


You're my Star [DISCONTINUED]

by bellbones, DynoLoafer



Category: 60 Parsecs!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Awkward Conversations, Coming Out, Crying, Dreams, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Gay Robots, Hurt and comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Nightmares, Panicking, Pining, Realization of Feelings, Suggestive Themes, Tickling, astro and backey have actual bodies in this fic so yeah it's an au I believe, cursing, injuries, rating will change when necessary as well, robot kisses, rp fic, tags will be added as we progress through the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-03-01 14:18:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 92,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18802027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellbones/pseuds/bellbones, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DynoLoafer/pseuds/DynoLoafer
Summary: “I MEAN, I’M NOT SURE EITHER. TO MY KNOWLEDGE, I’M THE ONLY ONE. UNLESS... DO YOU ALSO HAVE FEELINGS? TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE?”“I hypothesize that even I don’t know. M-maybe I do…? If I were to have emotions, I’d probably… I’d probably have different opinions on… on events that have happened throughout my existence instead of having the ones that have been programmed into me…”“HM... I GUESS IT WOULD BE A BIT HARD TO TELL IF YOU PUT IT THAT WAY. BUT ARE YOU SO SURE THAT EVERY OPINION YOU HAVE HAS BEEN PROGRAMMED INTO YOU? ARE YOU CERTAIN THAT YOUR OPINIONS HAVEN’T CHANGED, OR THAT YOU’VE FORMED NEW OPINIONS ON YOUR OWN?”Feelings are quite a confusing thing. Even if Backey had them, he wasn't quite sure how to interpret them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *Breaks down the door of my own house* WHO WANTS TO READ SOME GAY SHI T
> 
> This is basically taken from a rp I've been having with Dyno for like,, 3 weeks. We're really invested in it lol, even though we didn't even mean to start an rp. Like, we started one on accident sdnsdv
> 
> I should probably go ahead and establish who's playing as who in this chapter I guess:  
> Astro, Emmet - Dyno  
> Backey - Me
> 
> If you wanna know what Backey and Astro look like before reading, here's some links to both of the posts Dyno made of their designs:  
> Astro - https://dynolover.tumblr.com/post/183170747641/hey-so-yeah-i-made-astro-as-a-human-or-no  
> Backey - https://dynolover.tumblr.com/post/184186344071/so-i-decided-to-make-backey-as-well-since-i-felt

“HGHHH-- GODDAMMIT WHY DID HQ MAKE ME SO SHORT--”

_Backey here is reaching for a soup can. His fingers can barely reach the top shelf._

 

“What’s got you in an aggressive note, Backey? Oh… you can’t reach the shelves…”

 

“YES. I FAIL TO SEE WHY HQ MADE IT SO I CAN’T EVEN DO SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS THIS WITHOUT HELP.”

_Backey does the robotic equivalent of a huff and continues to reach for the can. Eventually, he just gives up._

“UGH… CAN YOU GRAB THE CAN FOR ME? I LEGITIMATELY CAN’T REACH IT.”

 

“I can’t really comprehend that either, Backey. They didn’t put that information in my database, which would probably be more viable information than what they do have…”

“Uhm, yeah sure. Here-”

_Astro's metal joints click as he walks up to the soup can shelves, towering over even the tallest one. His head is close to hitting the roof of the shuttle as he grabs a can of soup from the bottom shelf. He does a 180 as he turns to Backey._

“Here you go.”

 

“AH, THANKS…”

“...YOU KNOW, IT’S ACTUALLY QUITE STRANGE HOW I WAS BUILT DIFFERENTLY FROM YOU. YOU WOULD THINK THAT WE WOULD HAVE A SIMILAR BUILD…”

 

“Yeah, I don’t want to say that because my height is superior to yours that I am overall better, but- well-”

“....Hm... I wonder why HQ made you like that. Maybe you have perks to being a smaller size? I mean, I can’t fit through the airlock, and I can tell by the scan I just performed on you that you would fit through easily.”

 

“HMM... I GUESS SO. THEY DIDN’T NEED TO MAKE ME SO SMALL THAT I CAN’T EVEN REACH A STUPID SOUP CAN THOUGH. IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THE NEGATIVES OUTWEIGH THE POSITIVES. IT’S ALMOST LIKE THEY MADE ME... INFERIOR... ON PURPOSE.”

“...I DON’T KNOW, MAYBE I’M JUST OVERTHINKING THINGS.”

 

“Well, I wouldn’t call you inferior. I just think that human intellects, mainly the captain and such, don’t see the other advantages to being stouter than the average human male height. I’m actually surprised you didn’t see that yourself, but I won’t question it.”

_He beeps in a high note as if to assure the other AI._

 

“AH... THANKS, ASTRO. I GUESS I JUST… AGH I DON’T KNOW, MAYBE I’M JUST INSECURE?? I JUST WANT TO BE USEFUL, YOU KNOW? AND WHEN I CAN’T DO THINGS AS WELL AS YOU DO, I JUST FEEL INADEQUATE. LIKE I’M NOT FULFILLING MY PURPOSE.”

“...BUT YES, I SUPPOSE THERE ARE THINGS I CAN DO THAT YOU CAN’T.”

 

“Well, it’s interesting that HQ even programmed you to have such a thing as ‘insecurities’. I would have thought they made you as flawless as any natural human stereotype. But, their minds are amazing in their own ways, so maybe they integrated a personality into you.”

_He hovers on an auto mechanical breath as if he was about to say something else, but it faded a second later._

 

“HM, YEAH IT IS UM... INTERESTING THAT I CAN EVEN HAVE THESE SORT OF FEELINGS. OR THAT I CAN FEEL AT ALL. I WONDER IF THIS IS EXCLUSIVE TO ME ONLY, OR IF THERE WERE OTHER AI PROGRAMMED TO BE THAT WAY.”

 

“I... I’m not sure to be sincere. I would _think_ that there’s other AI’s out there who can have a personality, but, maybe HQ even beat that. Are you the only AI with feelings…?”

_He glances down to Backey, curiously raising an eyebrow. Was Backey the only AI with emotions?_

 

“I MEAN, I’M NOT SURE EITHER. TO MY KNOWLEDGE, I’M THE ONLY ONE. UNLESS... DO YOU ALSO HAVE FEELINGS? TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE?”

_Backey glances up to meet Astro's gaze, fidgeting with the soup can that had started this conversation. Although, it had been long forgotten by Backey._

 

_Astro took in a distorted breath, but it got caught in his chest._

“Uh....”

_It was hard for him to tell. He can't say he'd had experienced one over the other. What is it like to be emotionless? What was it like to have emotions?_

 

_Backey's expression turned into one that was more quizzical. ...Did Astro himself not even know?_

“SO... I’M TAKING YOUR SILENCE AS YOU NOT BEING SURE?”

 

“I hypothesize that even I don’t know. M-maybe I do…? If I were to have emotions, I’d probably… I’d probably have different opinions on… on events that have happened throughout my existence instead of having the ones that have been programmed into me…”

_His head settles into a straight position, thinking._

 

“HM... I GUESS IT WOULD BE A BIT HARD TO TELL IF YOU PUT IT THAT WAY. BUT ARE YOU SO SURE THAT EVERY OPINION YOU HAVE HAS BEEN PROGRAMMED INTO YOU? ARE YOU CERTAIN THAT YOUR OPINIONS HAVEN’T CHANGED, OR THAT YOU’VE FORMED NEW OPINIONS ON YOUR OWN?”

_Feelings are quite a confusing thing. Even if Backey had them, he wasn't quite sure how to interpret them._

 

_Astro's system draws a blank. He hasn't really taken note of his opinions of different things that have happened, no matter if the captain wanted to wait a day to see if a storm will pass... though, it was kind of annoying. They could have been hurt, or worse, but no, they just let it happen. That battery would have been so helpful...._

_Wait. ...Is this what Backey's talking about? Are these... emotions? Opinions?_

“B-Backey, I think I’ve come to a conclusion. I… I don’t think you’re the only AI with human emotions…”

_He looks down, a firm yet confused look on his screen._

 

“REALLY? SO THAT MEANS THAT... YOU ALSO HAVE EMOTIONS?”

_Backey's screen seemed to brighten at the thought._

“IT’S NICE TO KNOW I’M NOT ALONE IN HAVING THESE SORT OF FEELINGS…”

 

_Astro's screen flickers as if being caught off guard-_

“W-well… I guess it’s also a positive note that I’m also not alone…”

_He pauses for a moment, then asks-_

“Wait… what type of feelings are you talking about? Like… sad? Mad? Confused? Those natural human feelings?”

 

_Backey's expression turns into one of confusion._

“I... I GUESS SO? WHAT ELSE COULD I HAVE BEEN REFERRING TO?”

 

_Astro thought to himself a moment, then the thought hit him. He flinched, making a quiet but noticeable beeping noise of alarm._

“O-oh, nothing. I just guess that that sounded a bit… ambiguous.”

 

“AMBIGUOUS? WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘AMBIGUOUS’?”

_Backey tilted his head, oblivious to what connotations could be taken from his words._

“WAS I NOT CLEAR ENOUGH WITH WHAT I SAID?”

 

_Astro rubbed his robotic hand, feeling nervousness well up in his chest._

“Uh-uhm… Well… the feeling that I know that all human specimens have sooner or later is… the feeling of affection toward another character. B-but, that’s just what appeared in my data center first, so… I-I don’t know why.”

 

“A-AFFECTION? I-I WASN’T TRYING TO IMPLY... THAT! I WAS JUST--”

_Backey’s internal fans started to whir. He was overheating. It was strange, how come his chest was tightening up all of a sudden? And why did he not want to deny having... affection towards his fellow AI?_

“I... DON’T REALLY KNOW IF I HAVE THOSE SORT OF FEELINGS FOR YOU. I’M... NOT SURE WHY THAT APPEARED IN YOUR DATA CENTER FIRST EITHER! I’D... I WOULD HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THAT MORE TO GIVE YOU A BETTER ANSWER…”

 

_Astro felt the back of his screen brighten. Ugh, this was the human equivalent to blushing._

“W-well, I wasn’t implying that it would be directed toward me… Maybe someone else? I-I don’t know… sorry about that I guess…”

 

“AH-- NO IT’S FINE! I GUESS-- I GUESS I WAS JUST... JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS? GOD, I-I’M SORRY--”

_Backey could feel the back of his screen brightening at an alarming rate. He was suddenly extremely nervous and looked like he wanted to escape from this conversation._

“I-- I JUST REMEMBERED! I... NEED TO GIVE THIS SOUP CAN TO THE CAPTAIN!”

 

“O-oh yeah, that’s probably important,” _Astro said in a more monotone voice, clearly busy in his own thoughts._

_He felt like he needed to sit down and think about this like he'd usually do if something would trouble him, but he knew he'd need to scan the area and shuttle to see if anything was abnormal, so he just turned around, joints clicking, and returned to his area._

 

_Backey nervously retreated, hoping that the Captain wouldn't notice that anything was off about him as he went to go find them. God, why was he such an idiot?_

 

* * *

 

_Backey desperately tried to lower his screen brightness, his fans whirring, as he went back to give the soup can to the Captain. However, he didn’t feel his screen brightness going down any. He hoped that the Captain somehow wouldn’t notice. He saw Captain Ellis as he approached, and “cleared his throat” to get his attention._

“H-HEY CAPTAIN, I UM, HAVE THE SOUP CAN YOU WANTED!”

 

_Emmet turned around._

"Oh, yeah it was-"

_He covered his face for a moment._

"My God, Backey, your screen is like staring at the sun!"

 

“S-SORRY, I-- I REALLY CAN’T HELP IT!”

_Backey aimed his screen away from the captain and shoved the soup can into Emmet's hands. Aiming to distract himself from his thoughts, Backey quickly thought of something to say._

“IS THERE ANYTHING E-ELSE YOU NEED?”

 

_Emmet, slightly confused, said-_

"N-No, Backey, I'm good, but... w-what about you? It looks like you've seen a ghost! Or, from what I can tell, at least."

 _He momentarily glanced down at the soup can, which had strange scars and tears in the print_ _wrapping. What happened to get those there?_

 

“THERE CERTAINLY AREN’T ANY GHOSTS AROUND HERE, CAPTAIN, I DON’T THINK THOSE EXIST... BUT I’M F-FINE, I JUST HAD A BRIEF DISCUSSION WITH ASTRO... HE HELPED GET THAT SOUP CAN FOR ME.”

 

"Oh, okay. I'm...guessing you don't want to talk about it?"

_Emmet wasn't one to snoop in on other peoples business, even an AI's...._

_...Unless it's important to him, and they haven't told him yet._

"May I ask, is it anything I need to know about?"

 

“N-NO, EVERYTHING IS FINE, YOU DON’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING! I JUST SAID SOMETHING THAT I’LL PROBABLY REGRET DUE TO JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS, THAT’S ALL…”

_Backey fidgeted with his hands nervously, his screen still shining brightly off to the side, not looking at Emmet._

 

_Emmet watched Backey carefully. Yeah, something was definitely wrong, Emmet could see that, but then again..._

"Alright, Backey. Maybe you just need to... uh... I don't know, cool off? You seem pretty uptight at the moment."

 

“M-MAYBE YOU’RE RIGHT, CAPTAIN…”

_Backey was a bit “uptight” at the moment. He just wasn’t sure if he wanted to think about the situation with Astro at the moment._

“JUST UM… LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED ANYTHING.”

 

_Emmet looked down to the soup can again. It didn't look too hot, and Emmet was too curious._

"Uhm... yeah, I'll do that, but uh... what the heck did you do to this soup can?" _he asked jokingly._

 

“HUH? WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT?”

_Backey’s screen dimmed down a bit and looked over to the can in confusion._

 

_Emmet blinked a few times because Backey's screen still hurt his eyes a bit._

"Uh.. see for yourself-"

_He held out the soup can._

 

_Backey looked over the can and noticed the state the can was in. Was he so nervous while fidgeting with the can that he damaged the can without realizing it?_

“OH… I GUESS WHILE I WAS TALKING TO ASTRO I FIDGETED WITH THE CAN A BIT TOO MUCH AND I RIPPED UP THE PRINT WRAPPING ON THE CAN, I’M SORRY…”

_Backey looked away from the can and Emmet, aware that his screen was still shining brightly due to the light reflecting off of Emmet’s glasses._

 

_Man, Backey could really rile up someone’s curiosity with the way he talked._

_But, Emmet wasn't going to ask...but it was really hard for him not to. Maybe Backey will tell him anyway? No, he shouldn't think like that..._

 

_Backey stood there awkwardly for a moment, waiting for a response, but was met with silence._

“WELL UH… UNLESS YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY I’M JUST GONNA… GO DO SOMETHING ELSE FOR A WHILE. MAYBE GATHER MY THOUGHTS…”

 

_Emmet nodded, forgetting that he didn't say anything-_

"Oh, y-yeah, go ahead, I'll be doing things... so yeah..."

_He turned around to walk away._

 

_Backey also turned and walked away, before sitting down in a corner somewhere in the shuttle to think, as much as he didn't want to._

 

* * *

  

_Backey's joints clicked as he sat down, before wrapping his arms around his legs, wanting to seem as small as possible. Not wanting anyone to notice him. He thought back to his conversation with Astro. Why was he so quick to assume that Astro was implying that Backey might have been saying that he had affection towards him? Why was it that this was flustering him so much? It was just a simple misunderstanding, right? He was just making things weird and making it out to be a bigger deal than it had to be! And he was still puzzled as to why he didn't want to deny feeling affection towards Astro. Was he... did he actually develop feelings for Astro without being aware of it? Oh God, this was probably going to make things awkward between them... if it wasn't already awkward already. He had to wonder when exactly these feelings developed, because he sure as hell wasn't aware of it. He always did feel... different around Astro, but he just thought it was because he was the only other AI onboard. He certainly didn't feel this way towards any of the humans. God, why did he have to even say anything about "thinking about it", now Astro's gonna expect a response the next time they talk! This was filling Backey with anxiety. He... he didn't want to damage his relationship with Astro because of this. What is he even gonna say? He somehow managed to fall in love and hadn't noticed until the idea was put in his head? He groaned. He really has no idea how he'll be able to explain himself. Maybe... maybe he'll try and let Astro do most of the talking…_

 

 _Astro beeped when he heard Backey groan. Turning his head, he looked over to Backey, who was sulking in a corner. He looked really upset, and it made Astro nervous seeing_ _him like that._

 

_Backey barely noticed the beep. He was too busy thinking to notice small noises._

 

 _Astro decided that, even though the state that Backey looked to be in would probably be a bad time to do this, he would talk to him. Clunking up to him, he trotted up until he was towering_ _over him._

 

_Backey recognized those footsteps.  He looked up once he noticed that a huge shadow had come over him. He saw Astro, and his screen brightened a bit again. Oh God, he wanted to talk to him right now?? Backey also made a side note that when he was sitting down, Astro was wayyy taller than him. He stared up at Astro, but couldn't gather the confidence to say anything._

 

“H-hey, Backey…? Uhm, I don’t know if this would be the appropriate time, but uh… I-I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. I-I didn’t mean to speak that way when I noted that sentence, but it still came out incorrectly. I-I guess I just can’t speak…”

_But what was going on inside his head was a whole new story._

_"God, why did I say that? My idiot database could have chosen any other fcking emotion, and I said love? I need a reboot, I've been out of mind lately. Maybe I should just reboot my whole system so I can just forget this completely! What a fcking idiot I am! I had a shit ton of other vocabulary, and I fcking said ‘affection’ UGH!"_

_...But he was simply silent._

 

“AH NO, I WAS THE ONE THAT JUMPED TO CONCLUSIONS! YOU’RE FINE, AND I SHOULDN’T HAVE EVEN QUESTIONED YOU WHEN YOU SAID THAT MY WORDS WERE… AMBIGUOUS. I MUST JUST BE REALLY OBLIVIOUS… YOU KNOW HOW TO SPEAK, I’M JUST… NOT GOOD AT INTERPRETING THINGS APPARENTLY. I’M SORRY.”

_Realizing that this might make Astro feel bad, Backey added something onto his sentence, almost as an afterthought._

“AT… AT LEAST YOU MADE ME UH… REALIZE SOMETHING? ABOUT MYSELF?”

 

_Astro's head clicked to the side-_

“And… what would that be?”

 

_Wait shit why did he say that Astro's gonna want to know about it now fuck--_

_Backey's screen brightened considerably and suddenly he couldn't speak._

 

_If Astro had eyes, he knew they'd be burning right now. Isn't this contrast unhealthy for the human eye?_

“B-Backey..? Is something wrong?”

 

“N-NO, I’M ALRIGHT.”

_Backey couldn't gather the courage to look at Astro now. Oh God, what the fuck was he going to say?_

 

_Astro struggled as he gently came down, sitting in a very uncomfortable position, even for a robot. He fixed his legs and sat with his legs crossed. Yes, being bulky had its cons._

 

_Backey could feel his screen burning with how bright it was. He was surprised that it could emit so much light. Why did HQ have to make it so the robot equivalent of blushing was your screen brightness going up? Do they want people to go blind?_

“I-- I REALIZED THAT I-- UM--”

_Dear lord, why was this so difficult??_

 

_Astro waited patiently. Who knows what it could be? Maybe he figured out that it was actually easy to have emotions as an AI? Or that he found help a different solution to his problem? He didn't know, which was abnormal for him._

 

_...He really should just spit out already, huh?_

“IREALIZEDTHATIKNOWWHATLOVEFEELSLIKEANDIHAVENOIDEAWHENBUTIFELLINLOVEWITHYOUATSOMEPOINT--”

_...Nailed it. Astro will totally understand what he just said. Maybe. Probably not._

 

_Astro stared blankly at Backey, having no idea what he just said. He repeated the audio as best as he could in his head, but he only hears "feelings" and "some point", so it made no sense to him._

“Uhh..... Backey, almost nothing that you said properly went through my audio sensors.”

_He looked closer at Backey, dilating his vision cameras so that he could look at Backey's face in sincerity. He looked very nervous, and his pixelated eyebrows were creased in the most anxiety-filled ways._

_He tried toning his voice to make it softer-_

“Backey, if you are as nervous as you clearly are right now, maybe you… you should take a break? Or, something along those lines because…” _he stopped for a moment, but then continued,_ “Because… I… don’t want to see you like that. Just because you’re ‘second in command’, doesn’t mean you are nothing. You are… you.”

_He beeped, imitating a smile with it, even though it was forced._

 

_...God fucking damn it why did he have to be like this. He was internally screaming right now. Not that Astro could hear, of course._

_...Backey didn’t know whether or not to continue. He almost… wanted to say it now. But was this really the right time?_

“I… THANKS ASTRO. THAT MEANS A LOT TO ME. MAYBE I SHOULD TAKE A BREAK. I DON’T KNOW.”

_Backey seemed to be conflicted._

 

“I could inform Captain Ellis about it and you could have a day to relax, well, of course, if he agrees to it.”

_He felt the need to fidget, so he did by swirling his index finger on the floor, creating a swirl on the dusty floor._

_You know what, he probably isn’t thinking straight. Confessions are a bit hard to do on the spot. Maybe he does need this… day off._

“...ALRIGHT. WE COULD ASK HIM. ...THANKS FOR THIS, ASTRO.”

_He wanted to look at Astro, but he didn’t want to practically blind him. He settled for looking at him through the corner of his vision._

 

“No problem, Backey.”

_He looked over to Backey, who was illuminated like a star. Astro would be smiling if he could. His screen began growing in light as he stared at Backey more. This feeling was nice,  probably the feeling of happiness. Astro has no idea...._

“Well, I should… get going,” _he said.... but he kinda didn't move. It felt like he was glued in the position he was in._

 

“UH, YEAH, ALRIGHT.”

_Backey stared at Astro, who wasn’t moving. ...Why isn’t he moving?_

“ARE YOU… ALRIGHT? YOU’RE NOT MOVING.”

 

“Uh… y-yeah, maybe I just need to charge myself.”

_He tried to dim his screen, but trying only made it brighter. Ssssshit._

 

_Backey looked a bit confused. Why was Astro blushing too?_

“UH… DO YOU NEED ME TO HELP YOU UP?”

 

_Astro tried to play a casual laugh, but it came out nervous. What was happening to him?_

“Probably, even though if I tried hard enough, I could get up.”

_He did try again, but he actually couldn't get up. Uhm.... what the heck?_

 

_Backey has no idea what is happening._

“YEAH UM… I THINK I’M GONNA HAVE TO HELP YOU. YOU DON’T SEEM LIKE YOU’RE GONNA BE GETTING UP ANYTIME SOON.”

_Backey stands up and holds out his hand for Astro to take._

 

_Hesitation. That's all Astro felt. His arm reached up, but it didn't move after that._

_...Ahem. Well then..._

_He did soon grasp his hand around Backey's and waited for his assistance._

 

_Backey gripped Astro’s hand and pulled him up, with a bit of effort. Soon they were just standing there. Holding hands. He almost didn’t want to let go..._

“UM… DO YOU NEED ME TO HELP YOU OVER TO THE CHARGING STATION? OR CAN YOU WALK?”

 

“Oh, no, I can walk,” _he said, letting go of Backey's hand. He surprisingly stably walked over to his station, slowly taking his computer head off and letting it back in its place. This is how they slept, and it was the only efficient way to._

_He felt drowsiness overcome him, and his vision went blurry. It was time to fall asleep..._

 

_Backey stared at Astro, wondering what that was about. Well, he should probably leave Astro alone now..._

“GOODNIGHT, ASTRO.”

 

“G-goodnight...Back..ey..”

 

_Backey didn't feel particularly tired, so he just walked away, thinking about what just happened._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art featured in this chapter was drawn by Dyno, if you were wondering
> 
> Also, I did say that this rp was started on accident so uh,, here's the section of rp where we were fooling around in the beginning lmao  
> It's gold
> 
> “ASTRO CAN SAY FUCK AS MUCH HE WANTS THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”  
> “F U C K”  
> “#letastrosayfuck2k19 or wait isn’t it like 1961 in-game”  
> “Eh, fUCK IT”
> 
> “Sorry, Backey seemed to make my main system bug out and coded that into my system-”  
> “The lil’ shit.”
> 
> “THIS TOTALLY ISN’T BACKEY HA HA WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT”
> 
> “Ehem, excuse me-”
> 
> “DON’T TALK OVER ME ASTRO”  
> “OR SHOULD I SAY, ASSTRO???”
> 
> “As you can see, Backey is losing his mind- wait, what did you just call me-”
> 
> “YOU HEARD ME, ASSTRO. AND WHILE I’M AT IT, I’MMA CALL YOU A BITCH TOO”  
> “B I T C H”
> 
> “Initiating termination of system :B.A.C.K.E.Y.sys:”
> 
> “WAIT FUCK NO--”  
> “I DIDN’T MEAN IT--”
> 
> “52...56...61…”
> 
> “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”
> 
> “62...Are you done yet?...67…”
> 
> “ASTRO DON’T DELETE ME I’LL DO ANYTHING FOR YOU--”  
> “JUST DON’T DELETE ME”
> 
> “76...84...97...  
> Fine. This action has been canceled.”  
> “Ahem, I meant cancelled, excuse me-”
> 
> “OH THANK GOD”  
> “WAIT, DID YOU, AN AI, JUST MAKE A TYPO/SPELLING ERROR”
> 
> “There’s a bug in my system, I’m sorry Backey- And it’s you- So--”
> 
> “EXCUSE ME???”  
> “DID YOU JUST IMPLY THAT I’M A BUG???”
> 
> “[This AI has no input on this comment]”
> 
> “NO INPUT, HUH?”  
> “THAT--”  
> “ACTUALLY REALLY HURTS MY FEELINGS.”
> 
> “Oh, I never thought HQ could input feelings on AI! I-I’m sorry! W-well, I mean… you called me all that stuff…”
> 
> “I WAS JUST JOKING AROUND, YOU KNOW THAT, RIGHT?”  
> “I’M SORRY THAT I DID NOT MAKE IT CLEAR THAT I WAS JUST JOKING AROUND, I MAY HAVE SAID SOMETHING UNCALLED FOR…”  
> “BUT CALLING ME WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY A GLITCH, ERROR, OR MISTAKE… IS GOING TOO FAR.”
> 
> “I-I-I-I was kidding as well! I didn’t mean to call you a glitch, I was just ‘dorking around’! I’m sorry…”
> 
> “... *SIGH* IT’S FINE. JUST PLEASE DON’T SAY THAT AGAIN.”  
> “...I’M ALSO SORRY FOR WHAT I SAID. LET’S TRY NOT TO INSULT EACH OTHER LIKE THIS AGAIN.”
> 
> “Agreed, Backey. Agreed.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter for You're my Star! It's a bit longer than the last one, hope you all like it lol
> 
> Who's playing who in this chapter:  
> Astro, Emmet, Tom - Dyno  
> Backey, Baby - Me

_ Backey stretched out his mechanical joints before sitting down, with the handbook in his hand. He'd been told to relax, so why not review over some knowledge? He may have read this book cover to cover at least a hundred times, but what's the harm in reading it again? He flipped to the first page and began to read. _

 

_ Astro was writing out the daily report, making many small beeping sounds, kinda like Quindar tones. Not much happened yesterday, except that the crew all spent time together. It was one of the most boring reports he has ever made, but he had to. It was protocol. _

 

_ Backey did the robotic equivalent of a yawn. He didn't really remember when he went to sleep last night. He spent a lot of it just thinking. He probably should've kept track of the time, as a result he didn't get to charge much before having to get up. He flipped a page. _

 

_ “...and "Baby Bronco says you can count on his friendship." Astro typed. He heaved a heavy sigh and then walked over to the main table to input the message. Letting it scan him, he looked over to Backey silently. Wonder what he's doing, Astro thought. _

_ He beeped kind of like a microwave, and the message had been put in. When the captain came back from taking a walk in the lower area, Captain Ellis would see the message. Although, he'll probably skip over it since it's not very informational. Astro couldn't blame him, he'd do the same. _

 

_ Backey looked up from the book, having trouble focusing on the handbook for some reason. Maybe because he was lower on power? Maybe a glitch in his system? Who knows. He was just tired of reading the same sentence over and over. He noticed Astro at the main table. Ah, he almost forgot that Astro still had to do things while he was relaxing. He kinda felt bad for leaving him to do all the work. Maybe he should just say hi? Astro might appreciate the attention. _

“UH, HEYA ASTRO!”

 

“Oh, yes Backey?”

_ Astro turned around, letting the cable that was connected to him to retrieve that data fall out onto the floor. _

 

“AH, UM I WAS JUST… WONDERING HOW YOU WERE DOING? JUST WANTED TO CHECK IN WITH YOU AND SAY HI I GUESS.”

_ Backey bookmarked the page he was on. No point leaving the book open if he wasn't going to read. _

 

_ Taken back a bit, Astro flicked his haze to the cable. Huh... well, I mean, reading all day could get a bit boring? _

“Oh.. alright then. Uhm, I’ve been doing alright, though, I wish this blasted reports could do themselves.”

_ He decided to pick up the cable again, and he put it back where it went, which was a clip under that table top. _

 

“YEAH, THOSE REPORTS CAN BE A BIT BORING TO WRITE AT TIMES. TOO BAD THERE ISN’T THAT MUCH STUFF TO DO ON THE SHUTTLE.”

_...This conversation wasn't really going anywhere… Maybe he could suggest they do something together? _

“UM, IF YOU’RE FINISHED WITH THOSE REPORTS, MAYBE WE COULD DO SOMETHING TOGETHER?? IF YOU WANT TO.”

 

_ Astro didn't really have anything to respond with. He was done, but... isn't this supposed to be Backey's off day? The one day where he can just let loose of his cables and do nothing? ...Wouldn't he want to use it? I mean, Astro could find himself as annoying at some point, maybe even a bit rude if his connection was a bit off, but.... _

_ He was probably just overthinking this. _

_ But what's to do? They were stuck in a shuttle about the size of a Mansion's bathroom, and all the things on-board would be too precious to play with. _

“Uhm… sure, I mean, if you want to. I don’t know what we could do to entertain ourselves, though.”

 

_ Fuck, he was counting on Astro to think of something. Uhhhhhhh... _

_ He sighed. _

“AH YEAH, THERE ISN’T MUCH ON HERE HUH… I DON’T KNOW, MY BREAK HAS BEEN NICE I GUESS, BUT IT JUST HASN’T UH… FELT RIGHT? IT FEELS WEIRD NOT DOING THINGS WITH YOU, AND I GUESS MY THOUGHT PROCESS IS THAT UM… THINGS ARE BETTER WITH YOU AROUND.”

 

_ Astro laughed a bit- _

“I’m glad someone finally recognized my part of authority.”

_ He paused a bit nervously, then looked to Backey as he continued- _

“You haven’t been happy with your break?”

 

“AH, DON’T GET ME WRONG, I’M GRATEFUL FOR THE BREAK, BUT I GUESS AFTER A WHILE OF DOING ALMOST NOTHING YOU GET A BIT RESTLESS. I’M JUST USED TO ALWAYS DOING THINGS FOR OTHERS, SO WHEN I’M NOT DOING ANYTHING IT GETS BORING.”

“MAYBE IT’S MY PROGRAMMING KICKING IN, WHO KNOWS…”

_ Backey looks to the side, nervous to meet Astro's gaze. He didn't want to seem ungrateful, he just was tired of doing nothing. _

 

_ Astro huffed- _

“Yeah, I can relate to that. Sometimes, I just _ have _ to be doing something. It can actually… kind of control my system, but that’s probably just me being a workaholic.”

_ Astro noticed Backey's nervousness, but he decided to ignore the data. _

 

“HM, MAYBE. IT’S HARD TO BALANCE WORK AND RECREATIONAL TIME SOMETIMES.”

_ Backey looked back towards Astro. _

“GLAD TO KNOW YOU CAN RELATE THOUGH.”

 

“Yeah…”

_ A silence fell over them... Well... what now? They weren't just going to stand there and stare at each other...were they? Well, Astro didn't want to, but the silence gripped him like a force field’s pull. _

 

_ Backey noticed the silence. Why was it getting hard to talk now? What's with the tension in the air? God, maybe if he went to charge himself at a reasonable time he'd be able to think of something to say. _

_ Backey stared into Astro's screen, as if his answer lied there. He thought for a moment before coming up with a new topic, wanting to get rid of the silence. _

“HAVE YOU EVER WISHED THAT YOU COULD EXPRESS YOURSELF MORE? LIKE, YOU COULD EMOTE A BIT BETTER? BECAUSE UH… I GUESS ONLY HAVING ONE FACIAL FEATURE ON YOUR SCREEN CAN LIMIT THAT.”

 

_ Astro watched Backey, calculating. ‘Emote a bit better?’ _

“Well, when you put it that way, I guess I could confirm that statement. Even though I… only learned about 32 hours ago that I even  _ had _ emotions, but…”

_ He paused, gathering what to say- _

“It would… be nice to show expression as easily as a human. They can easily show  _ and _ hide emotion, which we robots… can’t…”

 

“YEAH, IT ALMOST DOESN’T SEEM FAIR… I GUESS THEY DIDN’T EXPECT US ROBOTS TO ACTUALLY HAVE EMOTIONS, HUH…”

“WHAT ALSO DOESN’T REALLY MAKE SENSE TO ME IS SOME OF THE SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HUMAN FUNCTIONS… LIKE WHO HAD THE BRIGHT IDEA TO MAKE IT SO OUR SCREEN BRIGHTNESS GOES UP WHEN WE’RE FLUSTERED OR EMBARRASSED OR WHATEVER? IT’S ALMOST LIKE THEY WANT PEOPLE TO GO BLIND…”

_ Backey chuckled a bit to himself. Wait, did he accidentally make a pun just now? Bright idea? Come onnn. _

 

_ Astro laughed, but... Wait, that's what that's about? Backey's bright screen? Wh... W- How did I not know about this? HA, I'm an idiot! He would have slapped his forehead, or the top of his screen, but he remembered that Backey was there. _

“Uh… Y-yeah, heh heh…”

_ Ugh, that was the exact tone he didn't want. _

 

_ Backey awkwardly laughed before falling back into silence, noticing Astro's lack of... enthusiasm? Well whatever tone it had, it wasn't the one he was hoping for. He just overshared again, didn't he? Ughhh why does he always have to do this... _

“UM… THAT’S NOT ANYTHING BAD TO SHARE, RIGHT? YOU DO THE SAME THING DON’T YOU?”

_ God, he's just making things more awkward, wasn't he? He really should just shut up, but he also doesn't want the silence to linger either... _

 

“Oh, no, no you are perfectly fine. I just… was remembering something else, sorry…”

_ Did I say the wrong thing? I probably said the wrong f_cking thing. Why can't we just have a normal conversation? It's probably spewing out all my shitty excuses of emotion and excuses. I should just shut up. Forever. Power down why don't you, so you can get out of this horrible f_cking conversation that you brewed up! _

_ There he went, dissing himself like an abusive father. _

 

_ Backey noticed Astro’s stormy expression. He’s probably making him upset, isn’t he? Dear lord, can he do literally anything right? He didn’t know whether to bail out of the conversation or to just change the subject… Wait, remembering something? _

“YOU WERE… REMEMBERING SOMETHING ELSE?”

_ Backey was probably digging himself into a hole at this point, but his curiosity got the best of him. _

 

_ Ugh, I did! WHY CAN'T I JUST FCKING SHUT UP?! JESUS CHRIST, ASTRO, GO AND BREAK THE PADDING AROUND YOUR F_CKING NECK- _

_ He would probably be banging his head on a table if he could, but he just repressed a loud groan. _

“Uhm… Oh, something that happened a while ago.”

_ That's not good enough, Astro, you f_cking blew it. Go jump in a pool of water you piece of shit bastard- _

_ He would be crying if he could, but he can't. _

 

_ He was just making things worse, wasn’t he? _

“A-ARE YOU OK, ASTRO?”

_ Backey could tell that Astro was upset and wanted to help him, but he really didn’t know how to… anything he said just seemed to make Astro more upset. _

 

“Ahem, uh, y-y-yeah, I-I’m o-okay…”

_ This is the equivalent to holding back tears, right? Am I f_cking right? _

_ I'm glad I can't show tears. How would that even work? If I started to cry, would I just make the sounds? ...I don't want to find out… _

 

_...Yeah, that question was stupid. Of course he isn’t alright. Why did he even start this conversation, this was just making them both miserable. God, why was he such a fuck-up?! _

_ Would… would physical comfort be appropriate right now? Would Astro be alright with him touching him? Should he ask if he needs to leave? Why wasn’t be equipped with the knowledge to deal with these sort of situations?? _

_ Backey settled for putting a hand on Astro’s arm. _

“ASTRO, I CAN TELL THAT YOU’RE NOT OK… IT’S ALRIGHT TO SAY SO, YOU KNOW? I-I… UH… WANT TO HELP YOU. ALTHOUGH, IF YOU NEED ME TO JUST LEAVE…”

_ Backey's sentence trailed off. _

 

_ Astro looked over to Backey in surprise, his screen flickering a hue brighter. The sore feeling that had grown in his head became a pummel,  and his chest felt wrapped in heated tin-foil. _

_ His voice was higher in tone when he spoke, strained- _

“No, Backey… I don’t want you to leave… I-I’m just so s-stupid…”

_ The flood gates opened, and he put both of his robotic hands on his head, covering a portion of his screen. It was silent for a moment, but then you could hear the faint whispers of Astro sobbing. They were wispy, probably because of his robotic voice. _

 

_ Oh God, what have I done? _

“A-ASTRO… YOU’RE NOT STUPID…”

_ He decided to go a step further. After a moment of hesitation, he tried to envelop Astro in a hug. _

“I’M… I’M REALLY SORRY THAT I SPURRED THIS ON. I DIDN’T WANT TO MAKE YOU CRY… I REALLY DON’T LIKE SEEING YOU LIKE THIS. Y-YOU’RE NOT THE ONE MAKING THIS CONVERSATION AWKWARD, IT’S ME DOING THAT. I R-REALLY JUST NEED TO KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT…”

_ Was this even comforting Astro? He hoped it was, although he was starting to feel guilt crushing him. He hoped his voice didn’t sound as shaky as he thought it did... _

 

_ Astro gratefully took the hug, forgetting that he was standing up. He wanted to collapse on the floor, curl up, and fade out of existence, but that's also the exact opposite. _

“N-no, I’m such an idiot. I don’t have the potential that HQ was set to give me, th-they didn’t fail, I did, all because of my stupid f-fu… my stupid actions. I-I shouldn’t be here, you should be me, I can just walk out of this god… this shuttle and just d-d-die....”

_ His sobbing had grown louder, and he did nothing to hold it back. This was all of his emotions in his life rolled up into this one moment. _

_ Everything he's said to himself, people had said to him, he has said to people, are all coming back to him now. _

 

“A-ASTRO--”

_ If he was human, Backey would know that tears would be dripping off his face. He gripped Astro harder. _

“D-DON’T YOU DARE SAY THAT! YOU DO HAVE POTENTIAL, DON’T DENY THAT! AND DIE?? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MISERABLE I WOULD BE IF YOU DID THAT?! I LOV--”

_ Backey quickly cut himself off. _

“I-- I CARE ABOUT YOU! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOOK UP TO YOU?”

_ Backey paused, caught up in his emotions. _

“I THINK YOU’RE SO SMART, AND I’VE WANTED TO BE LIKE YOU MUCH! YOU JUST MEAN SO MUCH TO ME, I-I JUST-- F_CK…!”

_ Backey buried his face in Astro’s chest, to the best of his ability. _

_ Astro looked down to Backey, choked up. He was surprised that HQ did this to him, gave him the ability to cry, or at least, the feeling of crying. _

_ But, the thought quickly faded, replaced with worst ones. I made him cry too. I did it. It’s my fault. Why... Why am I like this..? Can't I just.... not speak? Can I... Can I just... just leave? _

“Backey… I’m *sob*... I’m sorry… Never.... Never be like me… I… I- *sobs*”

_ He couldn't finish his sentence before he broke down more. _

 

“AS-ASTRO, PLEASE DON’T-- *sob* APOLOGIZE…”

_ Backey took a moment to collect himself, before continuing. _

“AN-AND PLEASE DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP OVER THIS… I DON’T WANT YOU TO FEEL BAD…”

_ Backey felt like his 'heart' was splitting in half... he wanted to say sorry, sorry for causing this mess, but if he did that would only make Astro feel worse. _

_ Because he knew that Astro was probably blaming himself, instead of him... _

 

_ Astro's sobbing slowed to Backey's new words. He took in one of the shakiest breaths, but it ended in more sobs. _

_ They weren't as bad, though. _

“I… I don’t  _ want…  _ you to… b-be sorry. This is all my fault… I-I can’t stop… I’m sorry… I-I’m sorry… I’m so, so, sorry…”

_ He kept apologizing like that, the sorry's growing quicker and quieter as he lost his breath- _

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry..... I’m sorry… I’m…”

 

“T-THIS ISN’T YOUR FAULT A-ASTRO.  _ THIS ISN’T YOUR FAULT.” _

_ Backey rubbed circles into Astro’s back to try and comfort him more. _

“YOU D-DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG. PLEASE D-DON’T THINK THAT YOU DID. YOU DIDN’T.”

 

“Th-then who’s fault is it, Backey? Who’s?”

_ Astro said, probably more aggressively than he wanted to. He voice has been distorted, so it sounded like he was angry, but he wasn't at Backey. At himself. _

 

“I-- AS MUCH AS I WANT TO BLAME MYSELF FOR THIS, I KNOW THAT NOTHING GOOD WILL COME OUT OF IT. IT’S NO ONE’S FAULT ASTRO. IF WE BLAME OURSELVES, THEN WE’LL ONLY BE HURTING OURSELVES EVEN MORE. I KNOW IT’S HARD TO NOT WANT TO BLAME YOURSELF, BUT I DON’T WANT YOU AGONIZING OVER THIS.”

_ Backey paused, letting that sink in before continuing. _

“I-I’M SORRY IF THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU NEED TO HEAR. THAT’S JUST WHAT I THINK.”

 

_ Astro started to breathe. In... Out.... This is what humans do, right? In... Out.... This feels better.... _

_ In... Out... Okay... _

_ Astro noticed Backey's actions, now that his mind was more stable again. His head laying on his chest gently, his metal arms, tightly yet comfortably, around under his arms to his back... _

_...His fingers looping circles on his metal plate back. _

_ Astro, curiously yet wearily, upped the sensory detection on that area... and immediately flinched. _

_ It not only felt strange, but it also tickled his metal skeletal spine. The feeling crawled up to the back of his neck and in his head. He would be laughing if only the feeling wasn't something he's never experienced before. _

_ His screen immediately grew bright, like a lamp flicking on. _

 

_ Backey felt Astro flinch, and loosened his grip a bit, but not letting go completely. He didn’t want to let go. He finally looked up to Astro, seeing his screen being illuminated brightly. Was… was this working? _

_ He stared up at Astro curiously. _

“D-DO… DO YOU FEEL A BIT BETTER NOW?”

 

“Y-y-yeah, i-it’s just… a-ahm... Y-you… I-I-”

_ He couldn't really speak, the weird feeling was all around him. He wanted to talk, but he couldn't. _

_ He hopes to God that he won't make some weird noise. _

 

“I… WHAT?”

_ Backey wasn’t aware he was doing anything to Astro. He only continued to stare at him, his head tilted to the side in confusion while still doing the circular motion into Astro’s back. _

 

“Y-you- You’re.... hhheh-heh....”

_ He tried his best, but he broke out into a small fit of giggles. _

“Uhh… he- Ah!”

_ Backey hit one of Astro's sensors right in the center, and it was like someone pressing a pressure point. _

_ But, it felt strangely nice too... _

 

_ This made Backey more confused. Why was Astro… laughing? _

“I’M DOING WHAT? DO YOU NEED ME TO STOP TOUCHING YOU OR SOMETHING??”

_ That was about the only thing he could think of that he was doing. Why his touch was making Astro laugh was beyond him… _

 

_ Astro wanted to lower his sensors again, but he was immobilized. _

“W-Well… y-y-you  _ are _ t-tickling me…”

_ Was all he could say. He stifled a huff, trying not to let anything slip out of his speakers. _

 

_ Ohhhhh. That’s why he was laughing. If Backey had a mouth, he knew it would be in a cheeky grin right now. Hehehehe~ _

“OH, I AM? IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF I… TICKLED YOU HARDER--”

_ Backey scribbled his fingers into Astro’s back erratically, now with a set purpose. What’s wrong with getting some more laughs out of Astro? _

 

“W-WhaAA-!”

_ Astro screamed a bit when Backey ran his fingers around Astro back, and it soon fell into erratic laughter. _

_ He clenched Backey's back plate, trying to stop himself from shaking. _

“Sss-S-stoaaAp-!”

_ It just broke out into more laughter. _

 

“AWWW BUT YOU SEEM LIKE YOU’RE ENJOYING ITTT~”

_ Backey once again happened to stumble across Astro’s sensor in the center of his back. _

 

“N-NooAAhHA!”

_ He basically screamed, squeezing Backey. _

_ His legs almost fell out from under him, and he and Backey both tumbled backward for a moment. _

“S-Stohahap! M-m-my se-ensory i-is-”

_ After another fit of laughter, he tried again- _

“M-my s-s-sensor-ry i-is u-u-up! A-A l-l-looAAAt!!”

 

_ Oh boy, his sensory is up? This must feel really intense to Astro... hmm.... Maybe just a little bit longer? _

“ONLY IF YOU SAY PLEASE~”

_ Backey kept up at that same spot, realizing that it was Astro’s weak point. _

 

_ Astro was trembling, wheezing like he couldn't breathe. I mean, he might not be able to, if HQ gave him the ability to. But, right now, he couldn't really think about it, rather nothing. _

_ Once Backey slipped back to Astro's weak spot, he broke out again, rocking back. _

“S-STOaP! S-Stop, P-LeaAaAAAse! P-P-PleeAA-!”

_ He suddenly lost his footing, tumbling backward. _

 

_ Backey was about to let go, but Astro had tumbled backward, making him lose his footing. _

“W-WOOAHH--”

_ He fell into Astro onto the floor. He grunted as they hit the floor, wincing before pulling himself up-- _

“S-SORRY ABOUT THAT, ASTRO, ARE YOU ALRIGHT--”

_...He said, before realizing what position he was in. He looked and now saw that he was basically accidentally straddling Astro. His screen brightness went up significantly. Oh God oh God oh God-- _

_ He wanted to move, but it was like he was frozen. He couldn’t speak. Internally, he was screaming. _

 

_ Astro groaned. Apparently, he hit his computer head on one of the chairs, and his vision cameras had gone blurry. Looking up, he tried to make sense of the object, or person in front of them. But, they were swirling like in an unstoppable merry-go-round. _

“Augh… w-wh…”

_ He tried to speak, but his vision started to return, which cut him off. Once everything was in focus again, Astro realized what was happening. Backey was on top of him, legs on both sides of his torso, hands on chest, staring down at Astro with the screen luminescent of the sun. _

“B-Backey?! W-what are you do-doing on top of me? What am I doing on th-the floor?!”  _ he sputtered, his screen beginning to glow intensely. _

 

“OH GOD I’M SO SORRY--”

_ Backey finally seemed able to move, and quickly got off of Astro, moving away from him. _

“I-I-I DIDN’T MEAN TO I’M SORRY--”

_ He tried to hide his screen with his hands, knowing it was rivaling the sun at this point. _

“I-I WAS TICKLING YOU, BUT YOU LOST YOUR BALANCE, MAKING ME FALL ON TOP OF YOU--”

“I’M SO SORRY AAAA--”

_ Once he was done speaking he fell deathly quiet, trying desperately to lower his screen brightness. Where was the damn manual option?! Why did they make it so he couldn’t lower his screen brightness on his own?! _

 

_ Once Backey got off of Astro, he sat upright, blushing. He dusted off his chest frantically, mainly to distract himself and have an excuse not to look at Backey… _

“No, no, i-it’s okay! I-I-I just… didn’t expect.. th-that....”

_ He trailed off. He wanted something to fidget with, but nothing was in his reachable vicinity, so he just twiddled his thumbs. _

_ His screen grew brighter and brighter, like the sun rising from the horizon. _

_ He drew up his legs to his chest, scrunching up. He didn't know what he was doing, but he didn't really have the time to care, at the moment. _

 

“A-AH-- OK…”

_ He paused for a second to calm himself a bit. _

“I-I’M ALSO SORRY I DIDN’T STOP TICKLING YOU WHEN YOU ASKED RIGHT AWAY, I J-JUST… LOVED HEARING YOU LAUGH. YOU SOUNDED SO HAPPY… AND I’D NEVER HEARD YOU LAUGH THAT MUCH B-BEFORE…”

_ He wanted to look at Astro, but his screen’s brightness was still very high, so he just peeked through his fingers to stare at Astro. _

 

“O-oh! Th-that’s r-really.....”

_ Astro couldn't finish what he was saying right away... _

_ He looked down to his robotic hand, which was still shaking from the happy little episode that happened a second ago. Feeling his screen, his temperature sensory notification went berserk inside his head. _

_ He was overheating. _

_ He quickly turned on his internal fans, which annoyingly made a small buzzing sound. Hopefully, Backey doesn't notice... _

 

“I-IT’S WHAT? WAS IT OK? YOU KINDA T-TRAILED OFF THERE…”

_ Backey could hear the buzzing noise, but he didn’t really make note of it. _

 

“I-it’s really sweet…”

_ Astro looked up for a moment, but then he quickly looked back down. _

_ Sadly, the familiar feeling of dread and guilt flooded his chest. The voice inside his head, to which he didn't know was real or not, started whispering the familiar insults. But they were worse. It wasn't talking about himself, it was talking about Backey. _

_ Look what you did to him, you made him embarrassed. He's gonna remember this feeling forever, because of what you did. I bet tomorrow, he won’t look you in the eye. He won't even stand in your direction. He will hate you. _

_ N-no, that's not true! He j-just said- _

_ Listen asshole, why would he have been apologizing if he wasn't hiding his growing hate for you? Huh? _

_ Astro knew that it was crazy. How does that even make sense?! But, the voice was like a shock collar. If you didn't listen to it, it will punish you with something harsher than it already is. Except, this is worse than a clean shock in the neck. _

 

“O-OH, T-THANK YOU? I’M GLAD YOU THINK THAT…”

_ Deciding that he should stop hiding behind his hands already, he lowered them, revealing his screen. It was still very bright, but he figured there was no point hiding it at this point. He fidgeted with his fingers in his lap. _

“IF I EVER DO THAT AGAIN, I-I’LL BE SURE TO NOT MAKE YOU TOPPLE OVER AGAIN…”

_ He paused, before continuing once he had a sudden thought. _

“O-OH! YOU’RE NOT HURT, ARE YOU?”

 

_ Right after Backey said that a wave of what he assumed was pain throbbed in the back of his head. Astro wondered how HQ did this. They were amazing intellectuals. But soon, another wave hit and this time it made him dizzy again. Almost collapsing, he rubbed his shoulder plate on the wall so that he stayed up. _

“Oh, yeah... Ah, just… kind of hit my head.”

_ The voice in his head got louder, which gave him the start of a headache. _

_ Oh, does he actually feel bad for you? Why don't you just shake it off, unless your fat ass can't handle a hit to the head? _

_ He's probably a weakling himself- _

_ What did you just say...? Astro talked to himself in his head like a normal conversation. _

_ I said, he's probably a weakling hi- _

_ No. You are just a motherf_cking bastard. I'm not listening to this. _

_ Astro focused his thoughts, and soon, the voice was nothing but a mumble. Inaudible. _

 

“AH, IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO MAKE IT BETTER?”

_ Backey inched closer to Astro, his face filled with concern. He hated to think that he hurt Astro… even if it was on accident. _

 

“Uhm.. probably not, i-it’s on the back of my head, and I’m not even sure how you could help…”

_ His voice was wavering, still recovering from that self-argument, but he prayed that it didn't sound familiar to the first time so that Backey wouldn't notice. _

_ Probably out of curiosity than thought, he lifted his hand and touched the back of his head... and immediately winced. It was a sharp pain, like someone firmly poking a bruise. Was it bruised? He gently, so that he wouldn't hurt himself again, ran his hand along the back of his head. It didn't have a bruise, however, it had a dent. _

_ Oh, no... _

 

“OH… ALRIGHT. I JUST HOPE IT’S NOT TOO BAD. I-IT’S NOT BAD, IS IT?”

_ Backey really hoped it wasn't. W-what would they do if it was bad? _

 

_ Shou...Should I show him? I mean, I don't want him to touch it, b-but... _

_ Hm... Maybe I should ask... _

“Uh… i-if you w-want to see it, I-I mean, if it concerns you that much… then…”

_ Ugh, why am I stuttering so much? I usually don't talk to the Captain or the rest of the crew like this, my God... _

_ He seemed to come up with a reason on his own quite quickly. It's probably just because of the circumstances of these situations at the moment... Yeah... I think so... _

_ He moved his legs so that he was sitting with his knees under him, and his legs sticking out behind him. At least it'd be easier to turn around... I mean, if he wants to see... _

 

“O-OF COURSE IT CONCERNS ME… I’LL HAVE A LOOK AT IT.”

_ Backey then waited for Astro to turn around. _

 

_ Astro sighed, his screen flickered simulating a blink, and, with the help of the floor, turned around. _

“I-it’s probably not  _ that _ bad, right?”

_ Astro said, turning his screen only slightly so that Astro could see Backey in his peripheral vision, and also let Backey look at it. _

 

“O-OH GEEZ… THAT MUST HURT…”

_ Backey stared at the dent left in Astro’s head. He felt guilty that his actions led to Astro getting a flipping dent in his head… _

“WE SHOULD PROBABLY GET THIS T-TREATED…”

 

“O-oh, really? It doesn’t hurt very badly…”

_ He touched the back of his head to demonstrate, but- _

“OW! Ack! U-uh…”

_ It did indeed hurt. _

“B-but, I-I don’t really know how to treat other AIs… I-I know how to treat humans, hardware, and building construction… b-but…”

_ He didn't really know what to do. How was Backey gonna treat this if even Astro didn't know? Will this all work? _

_ But, the more Astro thought about it, the calmer he got. No, it's Backey... he'd never hurt me in the state that I'm already in, right? ....He's good.... I... I think.... _

_ What am I talking about, of course Backey's good. Astro calmed himself, sighing quietly. _

 

“I CAN PROBABLY SEARCH MY DATABASE TO SEE IF THERE’S ANY WAY TO TREAT IT… HOLD ON A SECOND.”

_ Backey quickly searched for a way to fix dents in stainless steel. When he found what he needed, he let out a beep. Ah! Just what he was looking for… _

“APPARENTLY ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS APPLY HEAT TO IT. IT SHOULD CONTRACT, AND THE DENT WILL FLEX INTO ITS ORIGINAL SHAPE… I COULD PROBABLY USE THE HEATING FUNCTION IN MY HANDS TO DO THAT. I HOPE IT WON’T HURT YOU TOO MUCH, BUT IT SHOULD FEEL BETTER ONCE THE DENT IS FIXED… HONESTLY I DON’T KNOW WHY I DIDN’T SEARCH MY DATABASE EARLIER, BUT I GUESS THAT DOESN’T MATTER NOW.”

 

“Yeah, that’s accurate. I just hope it won’t hurt me as badly as I think. But, I guess… I guess you can.”

_ He got more comfortable, sitting back in a crossed-leg position, and then he rested his metal elbows on his knees. Sighing, he tried his best to cool himself off, so that Backey wouldn't feel his own heat, but as hard as he span his internal cooling system, it only seemed to go down a few degrees. Ugh, please don't let Backey notice... _

 

“ALRIGHT, WELL THEN… HERE I GO GUESS…”

_ Once he thought his hands were adequately heated, he placed them over the dent. He was a bit surprised, as Astro was already quite warm… _

“AH, YOU’RE ALREADY KINDA HOT TO THE TOUCH FOR SOME REASON…”

 

_ Astro flinched from Backey, leaning forward a moment. .... O w. That really hurt. _

“Ah! Ow, ow, ow…”

_ He almost went to hold his head, but that'd probably make it worse, so he put his hand down again. _

_...........Wait, he said I was warm. Ohhhhhhh no. _

_ M-Maybe if I don't say it again, he won't notice. _

 

“AH, SORRY! I WAS AFRAID IT WOULD HURT… I’M NOT SURE IF I SHOULD LOWER THE HEAT ON MY PALMS THOUGH, I HAVE TO MAKE SURE THEY’RE HOT ENOUGH TO FIX THE DENT…”

_ Feeling curious, he asked Astro a question before going to put his hands back on the dent. _

“IF I MAY ASK, HOW COME YOU’RE SO WARM RIGHT NOW?”

 

_ Astro quickly swiped his hand over his arm, trying to scan the temperature of himself. The data quickly showed him the results. 104 degrees. _

_ Isn't that considered a high fever temperature for a human? Well, hopefully the crew won't return soon and find out...or Backey won’t find out. _

_ He quickly thought up of some excuses. _

“U-uhm.... Well, it’s a bit warm in here, i-if you haven’t noticed.”

 

“REALLY? IT SHOULD JUST BE ROOM TEMPERATURE IN HERE AT THE MOMENT… AROUND 70 DEGREES.”

_ Backey looked confused for a moment before saying, _

“AND UH- PREPARE YOURSELF, I’M ABOUT TO PUT MY HANDS BACK ON THE DENT.”

 

“O-oh, okay…”

_ Astro was extremely glad that he didn't poke at him with more questions, he didn't... he didn't really know himself why he was so warm, and he hated the feeling, but it wasn't the time. He tensed himself, making his bluish-purple padding around his joints contract. _

 

_ Once Backey had seen that Astro had tensed, he gently put his hands back on the dent. He wished he knew how long he had to do this for… He doesn’t remember the file he found explaining how to treat dents specifying how long it would take… _

“D-DO YOU THINK I’M MAKING ANY PROGRESS ON IT?”

 

_ Astro couldn't really speak because of the horrible burning sensation at the back of his head, but he knew he couldn't be burnt, so it must be doing at least something. _

_ He simply decided to go for a small nod. _

 

“ALRIGHT… HOPEFULLY THIS WILL HAPPEN QUICKER SINCE YOU’RE ALREADY HOT FOR WHATEVER REASON… THEN IT’LL BE OVER.”

_ Backey continued to apply pressure onto the dent. Hmm… maybe they could talk a bit while doing this? It would probably be less boring that way… and there was one thing he was a bit curious about. _

“SO UM… I WAS KINDA WONDERING IF UM… DO YOU THINK THAT WE CAN UH… EXPERIENCE LOVE? I MEAN, WE HAVE EMOTIONS, SO THAT COULD BE PLAUSIBLE, RIGHT?”

_ Backey already kinda knew the answer to this, but he was curious of what Astro might say. _

 

_ Astro was about to tense up, but... why would he? He relaxed himself a bit. Hopefully the new pain would go away soon. _

“U-uhm… if I have calculated correctly by our… our own emotions, I would say that we could experience the feeling of romance. B-but… it’s a more complicated emotion, th-that cannot be manually induced by the owner of the brain. L-like, a human for instance… th-they can’t really  _ control _ their feeling of attraction toward another person… A-am I talking about this too much?”

_ He slightly turned his head but remembered why Backey was even behind him, so he looked back ahead of him. _

 

“N-NO, YOU’RE FINE… I LIKE HEARING YOU TALK ABOUT STUFF LIKE THIS. AND YEAH, L-LOVE WOULD HAVE TO HAPPEN NATURALLY I GUESS…”

_ He sat there for a moment thinking, before adding, _

“SPEAKING OF ATTRACTION… I WONDER IF OUR PREFERENCE WAS PROGRAMMED INTO US, OR IF THIS WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT WE MANIFESTED ON OUR OWN…”

 

_ He took a breath to continue, but what Backey finished with caught him off guard. _

_ Shifting a bit, to where one leg was up against the wall of the shuttle and an arm was resting some weight on his side, he asked- _

“D-do… H-how... How did you figure out if it was created by yourself?”

 

_...Shit he just overshared again didn’t he-- _

“I-I MEAN I DON’T KNOW-- EXPERIENCE? I GUESS? UM… I KNOW THAT I DON’T REALLY CARE FOR MORE FEMININE FEATURES, I FIND UM… MASCULINE FEATURES TO BE… AESTHETICALLY PLEASING?? I GUESS?? IF THAT MAKES SENSE…”

 

_ Astro was very surprised to hear this. He never really... really saw any notion towards that, it just kinda... popped into the conversation. Sh-Should I say my side as well? Would it be rude not to? _

“...O-oh… w-well… I-I -um… that’s okay... Uh…”

_ Here I go stuttering like a broken lawnmower again, or, what I was informed what a broken lawnmower sounds like. _

“I-I’m guessing that... It-it must be a-a little difficult for you to sh-show that, t-to say that, really, but… uhm… y-yeah…”

“Ugh, I’m sorry f-for all this… I-I can’t speak…”

_ His mind repeated what happened a few hours ago, remembering himself saying, "I can't speak", so he tried to fix himself- _

“A-at the moment, I can’t speak…”

 

“N-NO, YOU’RE FINE…”

_ If he wasn’t already doing something with his hands at the moment, he would be fidgeting with them. He’s noticed that he tends to do that whenever he’s nervous... _

“UM… DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE? I-IF YOU’RE COMFORTABLE WITH SHARING IT, THAT IS…”

_ His voice seemed to have a bit of a hopeful tinge to it. He hoped that Astro wouldn’t notice… _

 

“W-well, I-I guess I can agree with you on that statement…”

_ Was all that Astro could mutter. If he was a human, he'd be in the hospital at the moment with the temperature he had reached. _

 

“A-AH UM, THAT’S G-GOOD TO KN-KNOW…”

_ Dear lord, why does he have to keep stuttering?? ‘Good to know’??? That sounds obvious, uGH! _

 

_ Astro almost spaced out again, thinking about what Backey said. "Um, that's g-good to kn-know..." "That's g-good to kn-know..." It continued to repeat in his head over and over again like a broken record. "G-good to kn-know..." _

_ Good to know.... good to know... good to know...? Good to know? Wait, hold on- _

_ How would that piece of information be beneficial for Backey? Knowing that he was ‘gay’? _

_ But, he just brushed it off, not wanting to dive deep into a horrible, embarrassing rabbit hole, that even he knew was uncomfortable for anything and everyone. _

“O-okay…”

_ Ugh, why can't I say the words inside my head? _

 

_ Backey was extremely thankful that Astro didn’t question his words. He wasn’t sure if he could come up with an excuse on the spot… _

“U-UH… HOW’S THE DENT FEELING? I-IS IT ANY BETTER YET?”

_ Backey quickly brought up, changing the topic. He didn’t want to make it to where his screen glows ridiculously bright again, he could already feel it starting to brighten. _

 

“Y-yeah, that horrible pain when you started has gone away, and I can feel it changing, so I think it’s working…”

_ He quickly scanned his temperature again, rubbing his arm as if he had an itch, which is impossible, but hopefully Backey thinks it's natural. Hm, now it's 98. Oh, thank god, I'm finally cooling off. _

 

“ALRIGHT, THAT’S GOOD… BUT UH, WHY ARE YOU RUBBING YOUR ARM?”

_ Backey had noticed Astro doing it before and hadn’t really acknowledged it, but doing it more than once made it more questionable. _

 

_ Oh, great. He noticed. _

_ he couldn't come up with a reasonable excuse, so he just mumbled- _

“I-I was..... Uhh, I w-was s-scanning myself…”

 

_...Scanning himself? _

“IS THERE ANY REASON WHY…?”

 

“Y-yeah....”

_ Why do I feel so mean? _

_ He scanned himself on his thigh this time so that Backey wouldn't notice unless he glanced around Astro. _

  1. _Jeez, that was fast. How wonderful._



 

“...WELL, ALRIGHT THEN.”

_ Backey could tell that Astro was avoiding telling him why, and was very curious now, but he figuratively bit his tongue. There’s probably a reason why he’s hiding it, no need to be nosy… even though dozens of questions ran through his head thinking about it. _

“UM… IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’VE BEEN WONDERING ABOUT?”

 

_ I wonder if he'll notice my higher temp now... Wait, what is he talking about? H-he just skipped over that? Astro was all prepared to say the truth… but I guess not. _

“W-Well, w-w-what are you t-talking about?”

_ Ugh, please stop stuttering! _

 

“WELL I MEAN EARLIER I EXPRESSED INTEREST IN WANTING TO KNOW IF YOU THOUGHT WE WERE CAPABLE OF L-LOVE, I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF YOU HAD ANY THOUGHTS YOU’D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT…”

_ Backey felt Astro’s temperature go up and cursed his reluctance to question why Astro was scanning himself. Was he actually ok with talking about it?? Goddamnit, why does he always have to misread social cues?? It would be awkward to ask now, he already changed the subject… Now he was extremely curious… _

 

_ Astro slightly brightened at the thought of continuing what he was saying before the other things happened, so he said- _

“U-uhm, well, like I was saying before… uh, h-humans don’t really have control over that.”

“Th-the feeling can change, however. L-like, if one human, for the sake of explanation, a female, was attracted to a male peer, it wouldn’t really do much if he did nothing to acknowledge her emotion. But, if he expressed her affection back to her, the feeling would mold into something stronger. However, if the male denied any ‘serious relationship’ with the female, then her love for him might die.”

_ He rubbed his thumb, watching it glisten in the shuttle's light. _

 

“AH YEAH, THAT MAKES SENSE…”

_ Backey made a note to question the scanning thing later and waited for Astro to finish his thought. _

 

“Y-yeah... Uhm..”

“I-I just wonder if it’s the same for us since we’re created from other beings… I mean… I wouldn’t consider it a  _ birthing _ , but more of a… process? I-I’m not sure…”

 

“I WOULD THINK SO? IF WE’RE CAPABLE OF LOVE, THEN THAT FEELING COULD CHANGE PROBABLY.”

 

“Possibly…”

_ Astro stopped, finally calming down a bit, and really feeling Backey's hands on the back of his head. It was soothing, and he let himself watch the outside from the shuttle. _

_ But something seemed to bother him. Sh-should I check my temp again? W-well, Backey seemed to notice the second to last time, s-so maybe not... _

 

“MHM…”

_ Backey wondered where that thought had come from. He also was keeping a watchful eye on Astro, to get the chance to bring up the scanning thing again. He really wanted to know… _

 

_ Astro waited for Backey to say something else, but he said nothing. Should I check? Thinking about it probably is making his warmer. Ugh, I have to check! _

_ Astro did his best to hide scanning himself by shifting to where he puts one hand on his arm and kinda stretched. _

_ The scan quickly transmitted to his brain. 109. Oh God... _

_ I need to calm back down, oh jeez... _

 

_ Backey probably wouldn’t have caught it if he hadn’t been paying attention… but he was fully aware of it. _

“ASTRO… WHY DO YOU KEEP SCANNING YOURSELF? I KEEP NOTICING YOU DOING IT AND WANTED TO ASK BEFORE, BUT I HELD MY TONGUE… BUT I’M TOO CURIOUS NOW THAT I’VE SEEN YOU DO IT AGAIN.”

 

_ Astro felt himself flinch. Oh... oh, no, he didn't forget… _

“U-uh… I-I don’t know, to be earnest! I-I guess m-my arms are just b-bugging me…”

_...That was possibly the worst lie I've made in the history of my life. _

 

“YOUR ARMS ARE… BUGGING YOU?”

_ Backey’s tone was full of suspicion. What would be bothering his arms? It makes no sense… _

 

_ Astro wanted to check his temperature again, because he swore he saw steam around him. Is he seriously evaporating the water particles in the air? _

_ Wait, why are my fans not on? Wait, hold on, that's not right. He tried to turn them on again, but an error message appeared. Oh, oh shit, this is bad... _

“U-uhm, Backey, something’s wrong. Seriously.”

“I-I’m having trouble k-keeping myself at a regular temperature… I-I’m not sure what the original cause is, but I think you’re not helping it, b-but... Uh… I-I think I m-might have something wr-wrong with me, h-hold on…”

_ Panicking, he scanned himself again. Okay, this is really bad. 115. _

_ He keeps seeing steam around him. Shoot, shit, oh no, oh my God... _

 

_ Huh?! Backey noticed the steam around them. Oh God, something was really wrong... _

“WH-WHAT?? DO I NEED TO REMOVE MY HANDS FROM THE DENT?? THAT MIGHT BE CONTRIBUTING TO THAT…!”

_ Backey waited for more input from Astro before doing anything, extremely concerned. _

 

“M-maybe! I-I don’t know! O-oh God, oh jeez, I-I can feel the heat building up in my chest-!”

_ Astro, as quick as lightning, scanned himself again. 120 degrees. This will go horribly if something isn't fixed. He might fry. _

 

_ Backey removed his hands from Astro very quickly. _

“DID THAT HELP???”

_ He shifted around to get a better look at Astro now that he was free to move around. _

 

_ Astro kept his hand on his arm, scanning himself continuously. 120....120....120.....120.........121.... _

_ Oh..... _

_ O-oh..... no... _

“B-Backey, i-it didn’t help, I-I don’t know what t-to do, I-I... Oh, God… I-I don’t, I, I- oh- Oh, God…”

_ He stared at Backey's screen, feeling panic rise higher in his chest. _

 

_ Backey stared at Astro for a second, not knowing what to do, before quickly running over to where the handbook was. He’s read that thing so many times, he could’ve sworn there was a section on overheating in there before! He ran back to Astro with the book, quickly scanning the table of contents for what he was looking for. When he found it, he flipped to that page to refresh his memory. It said… _

“U-UM, THE MANUAL SAYS THAT WE NEED TO GET YOU IN A COOLER ENVIRONMENT AND THAT YOU NEED TO RELAX!”

 

“R-relax? How the hell c-can I relax like this!? O-oh, I-I’m scared, I-I don’t know w-what to do-”

_ He swiped his arm yet again. It was probably unneeded, but Astro was panicking. The temperature was now 125. He would burn a human hand if they touched his metal plating. _

 

“U-UH--”

_ Backey forced his voice to be calmer. Him sounding panicked won’t help Astro calm down. _

“I-IT’LL BE OK! J-JUST… I-IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP YOU RELAX?? ANYTHING YOU THINK WOULD CALM YOU DOWN?”

 

“I-I don’t know o-of anything, I-I j-just, God, I- AH!”

_ Astro grabbed his head, mainly the side of it, and contracted in pain. A head rush. That's what happened, and a very bad one, too, because it made Astro collapse on the floor very loudly. _

_ He was sitting, breathing quickly and heavily, whilst holding his head. There was no indication if he was crying or not, and Astro didn't know either. I-I'm gonna die, I'll break, I-I'm too complicated for Captain Ellis to fix, this is it, I-I'm dead, Oh God, why can't I cool off!? _

 

_ Oh God oh God oh Jesus ok-- _

_ Trying his best to stay calm, he got onto Astro’s level and was about to touch him before he flinched away. Ow, he really is hot! Instead of trying to give him a hug, he tried just putting a hand on his leg. That part of him wasn’t as hot as his torso and upwards at the moment. _

“L-LOOK, ASTRO, YOU’RE GONNA BE FINE! WE WILL MAKE IT THROUGH THIS, JUST FOCUS ON ME AND WE’LL WORK THROUGH THIS TOGETHER. YOU’LL BE OK.”

_ His voice sounded a bit forced, but it was better than sounding panicked. He had no idea what he was doing, but he didn't have time to think at the moment. _

 

_ Astro looked down to Backey's hand, laying gently on his leg. Hearing Backey's words, he looked up. "Focus on me." _

_ Astro tried to take in a calming breath but it came in shaky. Releasing it, he focused his screen on Backey's. _

_ He watched him, hearing Backey's own breath of his. He felt the urge to wrap Backey with his large arms, but he was still warm because he could see the steam rising around him. _

_ "Just focus on me and we'll work through this.... together." Astro blinked, his screen flickering. _

 

_ Now that Astro was focusing on him, Backey tried his best to have a soothing tone. _

“N-NOW UM, I JUST NEED YOU TO BREATHE. TRY NOT TO THINK TOO MUCH, JUST FOCUS ON BREATHING. THAT SHOULD CALM YOU DOWN A BIT.”

_ Starting to feel a bit hot just being near Astro, Backey turned on his internal fans. _

 

_ Astro heard Backey turn on his fans. He didn't question it, since he was way over the standard temperature an AI should be. _

_ He did what Backey said. Taking in another deep breath, which was less shaky this time, he let it out slowly. Doing this again, he studied the emotion in Backey's screen. He looked surprisingly calm, and Astro curiously thought why. Maybe it was to help him, or maybe he's really good at calming down people...? _

 

_ Alright, this seems to be working… _

“G-GOOD, YOU’RE DOING GREAT. JUST KEEP BREATHING. YOU’LL BE OK. THIS WILL PASS.

_ Backey would go a step further and do more than putting a hand on Astro’s leg, but he was still too hot to do so at the moment. He would need to cool down a bit more. For now, he just continued to stare at Astro. _

 

“O-okay..”

_ Astro spoke for the first time in a few minutes. He watched Backey, slowly but surely calming down. _

_ Not hiding it, he scanned himself to check his temperature. 121. Oh, thank god. _

_ He sighed with gracious relief, making sure to continue to take breaths after. _

 

“YOU’RE COOLING DOWN, RIGHT? THAT MEANS THIS IS WORKING! YOU’LL BE BACK AT A REGULAR TEMPERATURE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT.”

_ If Backey could, he would be smiling now. Just a bit a more small talk for a while and this will all be over… _

 

“Y-yeah, I am… 121 now..”  _ Astro said, feeling his voice fall back to a normal, less panicked tone. Hopefully, Backey was speaking the truth. _

_ He didn't want to say he was uncomfortable, but he was definitely not calm in the situation he was in... with Backey. _

_ He took in another breath, watching Backey's more pleased expression. His heart warmed, in a good way, to see this. _

 

_ Jeez, how hot was he before?? Well, if that’s lower than his original temperature, it’s fine… _

“ALRIGHT, GOOD… JUST KEEP IT UP AND WE’LL LOWER THAT A BIT MORE. NOW UH…”

_ Maybe they should just talk normally now to get their minds off of it?? _

“IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT? OR MAYBE YOU COULD ASK ME QUESTIONS OR SOMETHING? MAYBE THAT’LL HELP JUST GET YOUR MIND OFF OF THIS…”

 

“I-I don’t really have any specific questions… j-just… H-how are you feeling?”

_ If he was in a different situation, he would have smacked his forehead. Sometimes, he wonders if his speakers had a database of their own. _

 

“O-OH, HOW AM I FEELING? I’M FINE, ALTHOUGH I COULD BE BETTER. BUT YOU CALMING DOWN IS HELPING ME CALM DOWN.”

_ I guess he should ask how Astro was feeling as well?? _

“HOW ARE _ Y-YOU _ FEELING?”

 

“I-I can’t say I’m ‘okay’ at the moment, but, I  _ do _ feel much calmer th-than we started… th-this…”

_ He rubbed his arm in a more natural way than he has been when he scans himself, clearly not knowing what to say. _

“I-I’m just glad t-to have you here, i-if I didn’t… I-I don’t know what would have happened to me.”

_ He glanced up with a warm look, slumping his back a bit. _

 

“W-WELL, I’M GLAD I WAS HERE TO HELP YOU. I-I DON’T KNOW WHAT WOULD’VE HAPPENED EITHER, BUT AT LEAST ME BEING HERE HAS CALMED YOU DOWN A BIT… I DON’T LIKE SEEING YOU NOT HAPPY…”

_ Backey doesn’t even want to think what would’ve happened if he wasn’t here. Oh, that reminds him… _

“OH, BY THE WAY, IS THE DENT BETTER NOW? WE WERE A BIT DISTRACTED FROM IT BEFORE BECAUSE OF YOUR TEMPERATURE, HOPEFULLY IT WAS TREATED ENOUGH…”

 

“O-oh, I think it’s a lot better… let me see-”

_ Astro gently touched the back of his head. It... wasn't perfectly smooth, but it was passable as clean. It did, however, sting when Astro placed his hand on it, and he could tell by the soreness that it would hurt for a while. It could be much worse, though. _

“Y-yeah, it’s fixed. Th-thank you, Backey, you’ve fixed me up.”

_ He paused. Glancing down, he looked at Backey's hand, which was still on his thigh. Astro looking at it made his skin tickle and the hand feels heavier than it did before. _

_ So that it didn't look so suspicious, he glanced away to the window. I wonder when the crew will get back. They've been gone on that "mission" for a while now... _

 

“OH, THAT’S GOOD! AND YOU’RE WELCOME, I’M JUST GLAD IT’S FIXED UP…”

_ Backey paused, following Astro’s gaze. _

“UM… DID YOU NOTICE SOMETHING OUT THE WINDOW OR…?”

_ He trailed off, waiting for Astro’s answer. _

 

“I-I’ve just been curious… The crew hasn’t returned yet, and I-I was just wondering…”

_...Well, it was half true. _

 

“OH, YEAH, I’VE NOTICED THEY’VE BEEN GONE FOR A WHILE…”

_ Backey doesn’t even really remember seeing them all day… _

“HM… WELL I’M SURE THEY’LL BE BACK SOON. RIGHT?”

_ Backey looked away from the window and back to Astro. _

 

“I-I guess…”

_ Astro simply said, and he looked over the soup can supply. It was well-stocked, which was good. He looked at the crafting machine. Still making that mask. _

_...What to do now? He was just here with Backey....alone, he added to himself. _

 

_ Backey stayed quiet for a moment, before remembering why they were even sitting like this on the floor. _

“AH, HOW IS YOUR TEMPERATURE? YOU HAVEN’T UPDATED ME ON THAT IN A WHILE.”

 

“Oh, let me check....”

_ He quickly scanned himself. _

“...It says that I’m at… Oh, I’m at 99!”

_ Astro said in surprise. Wow, that was fast! _

 

“OH, NICE! SEE, I TOLD YOU YOUR TEMPERATURE WOULD GO BACK TO NORMAL!”

_ Backey seemed to brighten, happy that Astro was alright now. _

“ALSO, ARE YOU ABLE TO MAINTAIN THAT TEMPERATURE? IT SEEMS LIKE YOUR FANS WEREN’T WORKING EARLIER FOR SOME REASON SINCE IT SEEMED LIKE YOU COULDN’T MAKE YOURSELF COOL OFF WITH THEM…”

 

“I don’t know for sure, b-but… I think I can manage…”

_ He looked to Backey, joy and relief expressed on his face. _

“M-maybe I can turn my fans on again..”

_ He attempted to turn his internal fans on, and sure enough, they clicked awake and buzzed inside him. Huh, weird. Turning them off again, he noted- _

“Yup, they’re back in business…”

 

“THAT’S GOOD… HM, I WONDER WHY THEY WEREN’T WORKING EARLIER… AND WHY YOUR TEMPERATURE EVEN GOT SO HIGH IN THE FIRST PLACE…”

_ Backey’s expression shifted into a thoughtful one. He was kinda curious about that… _

 

“T-to be honest, I don’t know either…”  _ Astro said truthfully, rubbing the back of his blue padded neck. Why would I get so warm? It puzzled him. _

 

“HM… MAYBE IT WAS RELATED TO WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT? DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WHEN YOU FIRST NOTICED YOUR TEMPERATURE GOING UP?”

_ Maybe Backey was wrong about that, but that’s the only thing he could think of that might relate to it. _

 

_ Astro thought back to it and the realization hit him like a brick. Oh, of course! _

_ Well, love is a very uncomfortable topic, specifically talking about it with another person, so he's not very surprised to know that he got a bit warm.... _

_.....But what surprised him was that he almost overheated.... _

“I-it might have been the topic that we talked about, yes… I-it was about… l-love…”

 

“O-OH REALLY? WELL, I GUESS THAT MAKES SENSE, BUT HOW COME YOUR TEMPERATURE GOT SO HIGH BECAUSE OF IT?”

_ I-it couldn’t have been because of him, was it? _

 

“I… I’m not sure, Backey…”

_ He rubbed his thumb, thinking about it. Maybe I should avoid that topic...? But, it's such a natural topic, it shouldn't cause me to reach a temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit, right? _

 

“HM… WELL, ALRIGHT…”

_ Backey went back to thinking, puzzled. He was pretty curious about that… but if Astro doesn’t seem to know himself, he guessed there wasn’t much of a point to questioning it. His thoughts drifted back to reviewing over the day… So many things happened on what he remembers was supposed to be his break day… a majority of the things being stressful, ironically enough. _

 

_ Astro let the silence fall over the shuttle, hearing it buzz and click and beep. Backey wasn't really looking at him anymore, rather, behind him. He was clearly in his own world. _

_ Astro shifted his gaze to Backey's hand, which surprisingly enough, has stayed in that same place for the past 30-45 minutes. Again, watching it gave him a strange feeling. _

_ His own hand twitched like it was urging Astro to take it. ...But why? Maybe he wanted to move it, I mean, his sensory system has been lowered back to a standard human's sense of touch, so it shouldn't bother him....or would it bother a human too? _

 

_ Backey seemed too distracted by his thoughts to notice the silence. Not only that, but it seems as if he had forgotten that he had even put this hand on Astro’s thigh, it having stayed there for long enough to feel almost natural. In his thoughts, he noticed that anything negative that happened today seemed to get resolved somehow, which was nice. Although this day was like an emotional rollercoaster, at least he got to spend it with Astro. He sighed quietly. He didn’t seem to notice Astro staring at his hand, surprisingly enough. _

 

_ Astro took a breath to say something about it, but the statement quickly scattered in his mind, so he just went quiet again. _

_ W-what should I do? Sh-Should I just get up? Should I do nothing? _

 

_ Astro’s breath seemed to snap Backey out of his thought bubble. He was about finished thinking anyway. He looked to Astro curiously. _

“HM? WERE YOU ABOUT TO SAY SOMETHING?”

_ Backey finally broke the silence, however comfortable it might have been. _

 

“Oh, no, it’s just.... You-your hand…”

_ He looked down at it again, shifting a bit uncomfortably.... _

 

“O-OH! I’M SORRY…”

_ Backey took his hand off of Astro’s thigh quickly, assuming that Astro wanted him to remove it. _

“S-SORRY, TO BE HONEST I FORGOT I HAD PUT IT THERE, IT HAD JUST STAYED THERE FOR SO LONG…”

 

“I-it’s okay…”

_ Astro said softly, reassuring Backey. _

_ He brought his legs up to his chest and rested one hand on it. He rested his computer head on the other hand, trying to get as comfortable as he could. His sock-like feet were bunched together. _

 

“A-AH, O-OK…”

_ Backey tried to get in a more comfortable position as well. He ended up somewhat mimicking Astro. _

“SORRY I SPACED OUT LIKE THAT, I JUST HAD A LOT ON MY MIND…”

_ Man, he says sorry a lot, doesn’t he? _

 

_ Suddenly, a familiar sound echoed throughout the shuttle. The airlock was being opened. _

“Oh, they’re back!”

 

“AH YES, IT WOULD SEEM SO!”

_ Backey looked over towards the sound, waiting to confirm if it was indeed the crew. _

 

_ It indeed was the crew, and they came in one by one. Captain Ellis... Crewmate Bronco... Crewmate Thomson.... wait, where was April? _

_ Before he could say anything, Emmet hoarsely but sternly murmured- _

"Astro, take a scan to check our physical and mental balances."

_ Like the robot he was, Astro quickly scanned the crew. Everybody was pretty okay physically, but mentally....something bad had happened. _

 

_ Backey’s expression grew to be one of concern. Did… did something happen to April? _

“UM… CAPTAIN, WHERE’S CREWMATE ANGELLE?”

 

_ Emmet closed his eyes, as if he was going to say something else, before he spoke- _

"I-I don't.... want to talk about it."

_ He took off the armor that was around him and set it back where it was before. He walked over to the crafting machine before grumbling loudly. Guess he forgot it was still working on something. _

_ Astro looked over to Baby, who looked on the verge of tears, and then over to Tom, who wasn't as sad looking, but clearly wasn't happy either. _

 

“O-OH UM… ALRIGHT…”

_ That… can’t be good. Backey quieted down, before looking to Astro, almost as if asking him what to do or say. _

 

_ Astro looked back to him, shrugging. _

_ Tom walked back to his seat. Astro glanced at him, and Tom looked back at him, shaking his head as if saying "Please don't question it." _

_ Astro nodded, and then looked out the window. _

_ Emmet soon sat down in his own seat, holding his head in his hands. He looked bad. _

 

_ Baby also went to his seat, before pulling out his Soviet Socker toy, trying to comfort himself with its presence. However, with the empty seat across from him reminded him of his fellow crewmate, it was hard to stay calm. _

_ Backey wanted to ask more questions, but he knew that it probably would just make the crew upset. Besides, he could probably guess what had happened… _

 

_ Astro saw it, and his heart lurched a bit. Poor guy, he didn't deserve this horrible experience. He looked back over to Backey, slightly looking for comfort. _

“W-what to do now?”

_ Before anybody could say anything, Captain Ellis blurted- _

"We're going to sleep early. Goodnight."

_ He curled around in his chair, facing away from everybody. S-Should I turn the lights off? Astro thought to himself. _

"Astro, you heard me." _ Emmet murmured, as if reading Astro's thoughts. It was only about sunset, and 7:23 pm if they were back on Earth. _

“Uhm, night guys…”

 

“UH… GOODNIGHT TO YOU ALL…”

_ Backey then looked over to Astro. _

“UM… I’M NOT PARTICULARLY TIRED, DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE LOWER PART OF SHUTTLE TO TALK? THE CREW PROBABLY WON’T WANT TO BE DISTURBED RIGHT NOW…”

_ Backey muttered this quietly. _

 

_ The thought made Astro a bit nervous, but he whisper responded anyway- _

“Uh.... sure, Backey.”

_ Astro turned the lights off, making only the lights from all the machines around them and the light from outside keep the shuttle from sweeping into darkness. _

_ He looked back to Backey and beeped quietly, signaling Backey to go ahead. _

 

_ Backey heard Astro’s beep and nodded, before walking down to the lower part. _

 

_ Astro followed him, clunking around as quietly as he could. Before he got to the entrance to it, he swore he heard something. It sounded like a chuckle. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The artwork for this chapter was created by Dyno yet again :3  
> (I swear I draw a lot too I just haven't really illustrated a lot of scenes in this rp lol)
> 
> Also, April- I'm sorry jsdnvskdv


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so you know how robots kiss in WALL-E? That applies in this fic. (If you haven't watched WALL-E I would totally recommend it, it's one of my favorite movies from my childhood)
> 
> Who's playing who in this chapter:  
> Astro - Dyno  
> Backey - Me

_Backey entered the lower shuttle and waited for Astro to close the door before saying anything. He decided to try and get comfortable and sit down._

 

_Astro closed the door, flinching as it squeaked a bit._

“What now?” _Astro asked in a hushed voice._

 

“...I GUESS WE JUST TALK?”

_He patted the space beside him, inviting Astro to sit next to him. He had more to say, but it would probably be easier to talk if he wasn’t craning his neck up so high to look at Astro._

 

_Astro would have smiled at the gesture. He sat down beside Backey, getting comfortable by scooting up against the wall with one leg out, and the other scrunched up to his chest._

_Sighing, he got comfy and looked over to Backey. ...Oh. They were way closer than Astro initially thought. Probably because the corner was only about a foot beside him, and Astro couldn't really move._

 

_Backey’s screen brightened slightly at how close they both were to each other. There was probably only about ten inches between them. He didn’t mention it though. This was nice._

“UH… SO ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN THERE… DO YOU THINK THAT APRIL MIGHT HAVE… UH…”

_He kinda trailed off, not really wanting to say it._

 

_Astro knew what Backey was talking about-_

“I-I do…”

_He looked down, the only thing he could say he was doing was mourning. He didn't really get to know April that well, and he knew that Captain Ellis could've gotten to know her better. That's probably the reason he's so down…_

 

_Backey sighed. It really was unfortunate that April didn’t return… he may not have been especially close to her, but she was nice to him whenever she was in one of her good moods. Backey had a feeling that the crew just wouldn’t quite be the same without the mechanic…_

“YEAH… I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW CAPTAIN ELLIS FEELS RIGHT NOW…”

 

_Astro nodded. It was kinda strange how Tom didn't seem as sore-hearted. I mean, yes he was sad, but he didn't look like the sadness would last long. Maybe a couple of days, a week at most._

_Maybe he didn't know her well, or he just has a soul with willpower, but one thing is for sure, he doesn't feel like the others._

_Astro thought of this and did the same thing he did yesterday, painting a swirl shape in the ground from the dust._

 

“DEATH… ISN’T REALLY A FUN TOPIC IS IT?”

_Backey looked to the ground._

“I SINCERELY HOPE NOTHING ELSE BAD HAPPENS TO ANY OF US…”

_Backey wasn't sure what he would do if more people... died._

 

“Y-yeah… I-I mean… Isn’t it kinda our job?”

_He looked at Backey for a moment._

_He glanced back away, looking at the design he made on the floor. It was funny how symmetrical it was._

 

“I… I GUESS SO.”

_Dark thoughts were swirling around in Backey’s head, and he didn’t like any of them._

“D-DO YOU THINK WE’LL ALL BE OK? I-IT’S JUST THAT… THIS KINDA SCARES ME YOU KNOW? I’D LIKE TO THINK WE’LL ALL BE OK AND WE’LL GET THROUGH THIS, BUT… IT MAKES ME THINK OF IF OTHER… THINGS… HAPPENED. I… DON’T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO IF… FOR EXAMPLE, YOU DIED. I DON’T LIKE THINKING ABOUT IT…

_Backey wrapped his arms around his legs and brought them to his chest, making him seem smaller._

 

_Backey whirled his head to Backey, surprised to hear his name being said in that statement. He.... really doesn't... want me to die...?_

_Flattered, he said-_

“O-oh… W-well, I don’t really appreciate thinking of it either…”

_He didn't notice that his screen had flickered a bit brighter when he blinked._

 

_Backey nodded, acknowledging what Astro said._

“I-I’M PROBABLY JUST OVERTHINKING THINGS… WE’LL BE FINE. WE HAVE EACH OTHER, AFTER ALL. RIGHT?”

_Backey looked back up and met Astro’s gaze. He doesn’t seem to notice that Astro’s screen had gotten brighter._

 

_Astro nodded-_

“Yeah…”

_He watched Backey screen, having a more relaxed happy emotion expressed on his face._

_...I-Is my temperature rising again?_

 

“MHM…”

_Backey quickly dismissed his dark thoughts from his mind._

“YOU KNOW… WHENEVER I’M WITH YOU, ASTRO, I FEEL SAFE. YOU HAVE A CALMING PRESENCE… IT’S ONE OF THE THINGS I LIKE ABOUT YOU.”

_Backey rested his head on his arms, still staring up at Astro. If he could, he would be smiling lazily. He let himself relax._

 

_Astro sighed, letting a warm feeling course through his code._

_.......Wait... "One of the things I like about you"? H-He likes more? Th-that would be the only other logical conclusion t-to that statement-_

“O-oh, uhm… Th-thanks, Backey…”

_This time, he clearly noticed his screen brighten a bit more, but he tried to tone it down the best he could._

 

“Y-YOU’RE WELCOME…”

_Backey continued to stare into Astro’s screen and noted it was a bit brighter than before. ...He felt a sort of desire to be a bit closer to Astro, but would Astro be alright with that? He really wanted to lean against his shoulder… or something. He scooted a bit closer to Astro. …This should be fine, right? Astro can just tell him to move away if he’s too close…_

“UM… JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY… IS THERE ANYTHING YOU LIKE ABOUT ME?”

 

_Astro noticed Backey scoot closer to him, leaving only a few inches between them. He felt the need to cool down, so he did by, like a lot of times today, turning on his fans. Thankfully, they weren't very loud and soon were inaudible._

_He didn't have to think long before responding sweetly-_

“Well, you’re the only person I know that has been able to calm me when I’m… I’m ‘unstable’...”

_He chuckled weakly, probably remembering the day._

 

“AH YEAH… I’M GLAD THAT I’M ABLE TO HELP YOU WITH THAT…”

_Backey paused, before continuing, deciding to continue saying things that he likes about Astro. He thought it would be nice to keep the complement train going._

“I… I ALSO LIKE HOW THOUGHTFUL YOU ARE. YOU PUT THOUGHT INTO EVERYTHING YOU DO… YOU ALWAYS SEEM TO KNOW WHAT TO SAY TO COMFORT ME... YOU CAN BE A BIT SNARKY AT TIMES, BUT YOU’RE NEVER PURPOSELY MEAN. IF YOU REALIZE YOUR MISTAKE, YOU’RE SURE TO CORRECT IT…”

_Backey trailed off._

“S-SORRY IF I’M RAMBLING… THERE’S JUST A LOT OF THINGS I HAVE TO SAY.”

 

_Astro watched Backey, touched._

“Oh, stop, y-you’re gonna make me blush-”

_He joked, but it was already too late. His screen had grown about 1/3 brighter than it was before, and he looked over to the side to try and hide it._

 

“B-BUT IT’S TRUE! I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW… HOW MUCH YOU MEAN TO ME…”

_Backey could feel his screen slowly brightening as well. ...Maybe he was being a bit obvious, but he didn’t care at this point. He just wanted to let Astro know how he felt. He wanted him to know these things…_

 

“B-Backey…? W... What are you saying..?”

_This felt important._

_He didn't know what Backey was going at, and Astro didn't have a fine idea of where it was going to go either._

_Thankfully, his fans were actually working this time, so he doesn't have another problem to worry about._

 

“...I-I… I’M JUST SAYING THAT YOU MAKE ME HAPPY. YOU MAKE MY DAYS BRIGHTER. YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I’M IMPORTANT. A-AND I LIKE THAT. Y-YOU… MAKE ME FEEL SOMETHING THAT I DON’T FEEL ABOUT THE OTHERS…”

_Slowly but surely, Backey’s screen was brightening. He could feel his temperature going up too. Oh God, was he actually going to go through with this??_

 

_Astro didn't say anything, probably because he couldn't speak. W-Was.... is he.... it's compliments. It's normal for peers to share compliments between one another, and they just show a good friendship. It was like that played in his head like a definition, and it probably was partially refined from the dictionary._

_Was he just calming himself? Even he doesn't know, he just knows that Backey's laying some feelings on him that he would've never expected._

_He scrunched his feet slightly, maybe from anticipation, to see if Backey would continue. He'd be lying if it felt like he was reading a book or watching a movie, and this was a large point in the plot. But that was just him._

 

“I… I…”

_It was getting hard for Backey to speak. He turned on his internal fans. If you looked closely at his screen, you could tell there was something was appearing there. It was faint, but noticeable if you were staring at his screen. His screen was glowing a soft shade of purple._

 

_Unfortunately, Astro was too caught up in his own thoughts to notice, and when he refocused on Backey, the tint had faded almost without being noticed._

_He listened to Backey curiously. If he had a heartbeat it'd probably be at 110 bpm._

 

_Backey tried again, rephrasing his sentence a bit to make it easier for him._

“D-DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN I SAID THAT YOU MADE ME REALIZE SOMETHING?”

_Backey’s screen continued to glow brighter, but he didn’t bother to hide it. The shape on his screen was starting to become a little bit clearer. It was… vaguely heart shaped. It was still faint, but it was now easier to see._

 

_Astro watched Backey's screen....and soon saw the silhouette. He couldn't interpret it yet, and his curiosity gnawed at him like a bug in his system._

“U-Uhm… I th-think so..”

_He nodded, gazing at Backey with confusion and curiosity. He was glad that they were in a separate room from the crew, because if they weren't, he doesn't know how earnest this conversation would be._

 

“I W-WASN’T REALLY READY TO TELL YOU THEN… YOU KIND OF PUT ME ON THE SPOT THEN, AND IT MADE ME SPIT OUT A GARBLED MESS OF LETTERS… BUT I THINK I CAN… I-I CAN T-TELL YOU NOW…”

_As he said this, the shape on his screen continued to grow ever so clearer._

 

_Astro focused his cameras on it. Still, he couldn't really see it well. Maybe it was the jumble of other pixels, but no matter how hard Astro focused on it, he couldn't make it out. He only saw a light purple blob on his screen._

“R...R-ready to tell me what? I-is something wrong?”

_Ugh, it sounds like I'm completely clueless... I... I am completely clueless... B-but, something bad c-could've happened, or h-he might ha-have important information!_

_He snapped out of his thoughts and watched Backey again. Backey looked very uncomfortable, and Astro didn't have a clue why. Well, they were... kinda close, and they were... alone... but, th-that could be the perfect environment f-for some important information to be spilled!_

_He was stuck up in his robotic ways, but... that might change...._

 

“N-NO! NOTHING IS WRONG, I ASSURE YOU…”

_Backey took a deep breath. This was it. Just stay calm… and just say it._

“WHAT YOU MADE ME REALIZE… WAS I H-HAD…”

_As Backey paused, the heart on his screen became clearer than before._

“I-I HAD DEVELOPED F-FEELINGS FOR YOU. I… I AM CAPABLE OF FEELING LOVE, AND I’M NOT SURE WHEN EXACTLY, BU-BUT… I’VE F-FALLEN FOR YOU.”

_Backey almost wanted to hide his face in his hands now, but he wanted to see Astro’s reaction. He fidgeted with his hands self-consciously. The heart on his screen was completely visible now._

“I-I… UNDERSTAND IF YOU DON’T FEEL THE SAME WAY, BUT I… I HAD TO TELL YOU…”

 

_Astro went silent._

_H-he...._

_He loves.... me..._

_He, Backey, has emotional, affectionate feelings for him._

_He noticed for the first time that the heart was there. It was true._

_Astro didn't know how to feel...._

“Y-you...... Y-you… l-love... me…?”

_He squeaked. He couldn't believe this._

 

“YE-YES. I LOVE YOU, ASTRO, I-I LOVE YOU SO MUCH…”

_Backey went silent, waiting for Astro’s response. He was eager to hear it, yet terrified at the same time… He was shaking slightly in anticipation._

 

“I....”

_He paused for a second, then continued._

“I d-don’t know.... what to say… Y-you actually....”

_His screen was extremely bright, helping Backey light up the whole room._

_.....The faintest purple color appeared on his screen. It looked pinker because of his yellow screen, and barely noticeable, but.....his screen was changing...._

 

_Backey stared into Astro’s screen. He almost felt like running away, but he was frozen, like a deer caught in the headlights. Now wouldn’t be the appropriate time to run anyway, and besides, where would he run to?_

“I REALLY DO MEAN IT ASTRO… AND I J-JUST… I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. IF YOU DON’T FEEL THE SAME WAY, W-WE CAN JUST FORGET THIS EVER H-HAPPENED… Y-YOU’RE NOT OBLIGATED TO LIKE ME BACK…”

_Backey could tell that Astro's screen was changing, but he had no idea what it meant. He wasn't even aware there was a heart on his own screen._

 

_Astro didn't say anything, he just stared at Backey's screen in awe. He didn't know his was changing either.... and soon....._

_The purple started to take shape. It formed a heart and grew stronger once the heart was formed. Quicker than Backey's, actually...._

“B-Backey… I-I don’t think I-I could… f-forget this…”

“T-to say y-you love me w-with a high degree leaves me s-s-speechless…”

_He couldn't say anything..._

_...B-but..... the heart was full now... and it was showing everything to Backey..._

 

_When Backey recognized the heart was on Astro’s screen, he audibly gasped._

“A-ASTRO, TH-THERE’S A… A HEART ON YOUR SCREEN…!”

_Did… did that mean…?_

_Did Astro actually...?_

 

“I-I do-!”

_He naively slapped a hand on his screen as if he could feel it, but when he took it off, he saw the reflection of purple on his hand._

_I... I do... I return those feelings to Backey... and I didn't even know it...?_

 

“DO-DOES THAT MEAN… WHAT I THINK IT MEANS…?”

_Backey was shaking. He wanted to be absolutely sure of what it meant… did Astro like him back…?_

 

_Astro didn't know if he had the capability to answer that. He looked back at Backey...._

_.....And I love him, too._

“B… Backey… I…”

_He didn't finish._

 

_After a pause, Backey said it._

“D-DO YOU… L-LOVE ME BACK?”

 

“I… I....”

“I… I th-think I d-do…”

“And I never even knew it before you said it… y-yourself…”

_He stared at Backey, his heart a full purple color._

 

_If he could produce tears, they would be ones of joy. Astro… Astro likes him. He loves him. Astro reciprocates his feelings._

“I-I… I’M SO… GLAD YOU DO…”

_Backey practically tackled Astro, hugging him tightly. That was all he needed for him to get closer. He felt like laughing. Oh God, he loves him. Astro loves him…!_

 

_It took a second for Astro to realize once was happening, and Backey tackled his torso. Before he knew it, they were both on the ground, hugging each other with a might._

“I… I love you… Backey…”

_He mumbled, not really telling himself to say that._

 

“I LOVE YOU TOO, A-ASTRO…”

_He loosened his grip on Astro, his face hovering above Astro’s screen. Did this mean…?_

“C-CAN I… CAN I KISS YOU…? P-PLEASE?”

_He wanted to really badly. He wanted to be close to Astro. He wanted to forget about everything else, at least for the moment, and focus on Astro. Just Astro._

 

_Astro's screen immediately brightened by about 75%. It was very bright and did indeed light up the whole room._

_His body moved on its own._

_Without him even inputting anything, he suddenly lied a hand on the back of Backey's head..._

_...and gave him a soft kiss._

 

_Backey’s screen brightened considerably, maybe even more so than Astro’s. He kissed Astro back just as softly, the small electric shock between them growing stronger._

 

_Before it lasted too long, Astro moved his head back and the spark faded. He looked up at Backey, not knowing what to say or do. They were still on the floor._

 

_Backey stared back at Astro, still unbelieving that this was even happening. He also wasn’t sure what to do._

“S-SO… WHAT NOW?”

 

“I-I don’t know… anymore..”

_He stared at Backey, the heart still there. Just sitting there, with Backey on top of him, felt like some sort of dream. He couldn't help his gaze flick to Backey's metal chest plate, which glowed like a lightbulb from both of their screens._

 

“D-DO YOU… J-JUST WANT TO CUDDLE NOW?? I-I… JUST WANT TO BE CLOSE TO YOU RIGHT NOW…”

_Backey waited for Astro to say it was ok. He thought he’d probably be ok with it, but he just wanted to be sure…_

 

_Astro had a way with words... He didn't have to say 'yes' to say... yes._

_He wrapped Backey in his arms, hoping he didn't hurt him and brought him up to his chest._

 

_Backey wrapped his arms around Astro as well, burying his face in his chest._

“I LOVE YOU ASTRO… AND I MEAN IT MORE AND MORE WITH EACH TIME I SAY IT…”

 

“I… I… I love you too, Backey… A-and… I kn-know I mean it, too…”

_He didn't know how else to put that statement into words. It's love, by the way._

 

* * *

 

_The next morning, Backey woke up, groggy. Astro and Backey didn’t go back to the main shuttle area to charge and fell asleep in each other’s arms. While sleeping did charge them slightly, it barely gave them enough energy to go through the day. Backey groaned, then buried his face back into Astro’s chest. He didn’t want to get up…_

 

_This made Astro wake up, his screen slowly flickered into life. For a second, he forgot where he was. Ugh.... Wh-what... happened? Then he felt Backey on him. Oh yeah..._

_Seeing Backey lean on him like that was something that'd take a while for Astro to get used to if... if they were ever going to do this again._

_Knowing that Backey was tired, like himself, he just lied his head up against the wall and looked up at the dirty ceiling._

 

“MORNING… SORRY IF I WOKE YOU UP…”

_Backey said with a yawn, noticing that Astro was moving now. He may not want to move, but he could at least greet Astro._

 

“Uh, good morning, Backey…”

_Astro murmured, looking down at the smaller AI. He glanced to the door of the main room. Quickly, he looked to see what time it was on his internal menu. 9:17 am. The crew should be up by now.... Oh, they should be up by now. Great. How were he and Backey going to explain this?_

_If they just both pop out of the low area and out just like "Yeah, I know it's strange for you to see robotic beings come out of the same room in the morning when our charging stations are in another room, so why didn't they just go to their charging stations, it'd be fine-" .....So, how was this going to work?_

 

_As if reading Astro’s thoughts, Backey grumbled,_

“UGH… WHAT ARE WE GONNA TELL THE CREW…?”

 

“That’s what I was just thinking…”

“A-and... I’m not positive…”

 

“W-WELL UH, WE’RE UM… DATING NOW, RIGHT? THAT’S THE STEP PEOPLE USUALLY TAKE AFTER CONFESSING TO EACH OTHER…”

_Backey was still surprised by yesterday’s events… It all felt like a dream…_

 

“W-Well… I-I guess..”

_He chuckled, looking down to Backey. Dating.... was an interesting human trait. A way that two people bond over various events that are classified as "romantic". There's a first date, second, third, fourth.... It really goes on and on until the two depart.... or get engaged. ....C-Can AI even get engaged?_

_Well.... if it was possible..._

_Astro felt himself growing warm at the topic._

 

_He finally lifted his head up a bit, to meet Astro’s gaze._

“ALRIGHT… A-ARE WE GOING TO TELL THEM WE’RE DATING NOW? I IMAGINE IT WOULD BE FAIRLY HARD TO HIDE, THIS SHUTTLE ISN’T THAT BIG… AND WE SEE THEM NEARLY EVERY DAY.”

_Backey didn’t really wanna hide their relationship, and there really wasn’t a reason to, but he’d do it if Astro wanted him to…_

 

“I-I mean.... I-it’s only b-been a day…”

_He chuckled, but then soon dropped it. Sighing, he mumbled-_

“I… I don’t know, Backey… I mean… I still don’t really get it… I-I just… I just know that I love you…”

_He wished he could show a smile…_

 

“Y-YEAH… I GUESS IT HAS ONLY BEEN A DAY… A-AND CAN RELATE I GUESS… I’M NOT REALLY SURE HOW THINGS WILL GO FROM HERE, BUT I’M GLAD I’LL BE GOING THROUGH IT WITH YOU…”

_As Backey said this, his screen glowed slightly brighter. He also wished he could smile… hopefully Astro can tell that he’s happy even without a smile._

 

_Astro blinked, a warm feeling fluttering in his heart. Backey was still on him, so he couldn't really move, but he didn't mind that much._

_The idea of having to go out there and not only reveal his sexuality to everyone but also say you’re dating the only other robot on the ship..... it takes courage. Courage that Astro didn't have._

_So, he just kinda curled a bit, holding onto Backey._

 

“HMM… I WONDER IF THE CREW IS WONDERING WHY WE AREN’T IN THE MAIN ROOM RIGHT NOW…”

_Backey hated to get up right now, but he felt like they would have to do it soon… He wasn’t sure if he wanted a crewmember to walk in on him and Astro like this… it would probably be less embarrassing to just tell them than for them to explain themselves where they were._

 

“I-I guess…”

_Astro stuttered, for the first time, there was uncertainty in his voice. He rubbed the back of his neck and took a deep breath. He knew this would have to come the moment he said "I love you" to Backey... but... he wasn't expecting it to be so soon._

 

_Backey reached over and took one of Astro’s hands, holding it gently._

“DO YOU WANT TO GET UP NOW? I MEAN, IT IS COMFY BEING LIKE THIS, AND I’D REALLY RATHER SLEEP RIGHT NOW, BUT WE’LL HAVE TO LEAVE THIS ROOM EVENTUALLY…”

 

_Astro soon shook his head after he took his eyes off of Backey's hand holding his-_

“Honestly, I don’t… I’d rather be here… with you. But… I… I-”

_He groaned quietly-_

“I-I don’t know..”

_He looked back down at Backey's hand again._

“Y… You’re surprisingly gentle for an AI…”

_He said, looking back up with a calm yet still worried expression._

 

“I COULD SAY THE SAME TO YOU, YOU KNOW…”

_Backey sighed. He wished they could just stay like this forever, but that’s just unrealistic._

“ARE… ARE YOU SCARED OF WHAT THE CREW MIGHT THINK? I THINK THEY’RE A PRETTY ACCEPTING BUNCH, THEY’LL PROBABLY BE FINE WITH US BEING TOGETHER…”

_He rubbed Astro’s hand absent-mindedly._

“YOU KNOW, I’LL BE RIGHT THERE WITH YOU, RIGHT? YOU WON’T BE THE ONLY ONE ADMITTING TO BEING GAY AND NOW BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP.”

 

“I know that, but…”

_He looked down to his knees for a moment._

“I’m horrified, Backey…”

_He looked back up, sadness flooding his screen._

“I know it’s just me being… me, but… I-I’m just so… nervous? Scared? Both? I’m an AI, meant to know more than any human ever, and I don’t know basic emotions…”

_He looked at his other hand, which was shaking slightly. For some reason, he didn't feel very warm, it was more like someone forced him to shove a rock in his chest._

 

_Backey’s heart sank at the sad look in Astro’s eyes._

“I MEAN, I DON’T BLAME YOU… I’M STILL FIGURING OUT EMOTIONS FOR MYSELF TOO… THEY CAN BE VERY CONFUSING. THEY CAN COMBINE IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS, THEY CAN BE CHANGED BY THE SLIGHTEST OF THINGS… AND I ADMIT, I’M A BIT NERVOUS TOO… BUT I KNOW THAT THINGS WILL BE OK. YOU’LL BE WITH ME, AFTER ALL. WE’LL TAKE THIS ON TOGETHER.”

_Backey took Astro's other hand. He could see it shaking, and hoped that by holding it he would calm Astro down further._

 

_Astro looked down to Backey, who was now holding both of his hands. He sighed,_

“I guess… I just hope it all turns out okay…”

_His voice went a bit hoarse, which made it sound very distorted at the end, but he didn't care about that._

_He looked back up, and faintly, the purple heart reappeared on his screen, then faded again slowly._

 

_Backey really won’t ever get used to seeing that purple heart on Astro’s screen… to think that he was the one to awaken it…_

“YEAH… ME TOO.”

_Backey stared at Astro’s screen a bit more, his screen mimicking Astro’s with his own purple heart appearing faintly before speaking again._

“DO YOU THINK YOU’RE READY NOW? OR DO YOU NEED MORE TIME?”

 

“I-I’m not sure… I-I don’t want to waste any more time, b-but…”

_He didn't really need to finish to get his point across._

_He craned his neck, stretching it out a bit._

 

“...YEAH, I GET IT…”

_After a bit, Backey let go of Astro’s hands, sitting up a bit before stretching. His joints felt a bit stiff, perhaps he slept a little weirdly last night._

“WELL… I’M READY WHENEVER YOU ARE.”

 

_Astro lied his head in his hands, preparing himself. He let his thoughts drown out so that he could listen to the shuttle. It somehow made him relax. The rhythmic clicking, the beeping every now and then, the buzzing of some broken circuits. Maybe it'll be okay after all..._

_He sighed and rubbed his screen, shaking off as much dread as he could. He then looked up to Backey-_

“Alright, I think I’m prepared…”

 

“ALRIGHT…”

_Backey pushed himself up, dusting himself off before he extended a hand out to Astro._

“WANT ME TO HELP YOU UP?”

 

_Astro nodded and gripped Backey's hand. He was pulled up on his feet, and once Backey let go, he stretched his arms wide. Wow, he was sore. Looks like his metal joints will need a break when they get it._

_The race of what he was about to do coursed inside him again, and he shook himself. It'll be fine..._

 

“OK, GUESS WE’LL HEAD OUT NOW…”

_Before moving, however, he said something again as a reminder, glad he was able to say it now…_

“I LOVE YOU, ASTRO.”

 

_Astro felt as if his whole body was smiling. He walked up close to Backey and pecked him a kiss, a tiny spark flickered between them._

“I love you too, Backey,” _he said when he drew back._

 

_Backey’s screen brightened a bit, caught off guard. He almost went to cover his screen but decided against it. ...He definitely looked forward to doing this many more times with Astro._

“H-HEH HEH…”

_Backey chuckled a bit, before walking to the door. He waited next to the door, wanting to go with Astro together._

 

_Astro walked up with Backey, feeling the nervousness pile up in his chest. But it was probably too late to change his mind now._

_He looked down to Backey, a small worried look on his face as if saying "Do we have to do this?"_

 

_Backey met his gaze, and let out a small beep, almost as if to reassure Astro._

“W-WELL, I GUESS THERE’S NO TURNING BACK NOW…”

_After a moment of hesitation, Backey opened the door._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art in this chapter was created by me and Dyno this time! (Finally, a scene that I've illustrated dkmvkdv)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :3
> 
> (Also, btw my tumblr is bell-bones, and my art blog is bb-draws-art-things if you wanna check it out- and Dyno's tumblr is dynolover!)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No art this chapter, but here it is! Hope y'all enjoy :3
> 
> Who's playing who in this chapter:  
> Astro, Emmet, Tom - Dyno  
> Backey, Baby - Me

Astro's covered his screen for a second, his camera's overwhelmed by the sudden bright light. He guessed that Captain Ellis had turned on the lights himself, and that includes everything else. It felt kinda strange that everything was working without him, but this was a different situation.

Backey also covered his screen, blinking several times, trying to get used to the light. After his cameras adjusted, he moved forward. He was a bit nervous, but he tried to assure himself that everything would be fine.

Captain Ellis glanced at them for a moment. He was at the crafting machine, watching it continue and craft the mask. Wow, he must have been bored.  
But, he just looked back to it. Hm, he still isn't doing too well.  
Astro blinked, looking around the messy shuttle. Yep, very messy.

Backey looked to Astro, unsure of what to say. “Who should say something first?” was the question that seemed to be asked, although he wasn’t saying anything.

Astro looked back for a moment. He then looked back up when Emmet mumbled-  
"...Good morning, Astro and Backey."

“G-GOOD MORNING, CAPTAIN…”  
Backey paused, thinking of what to say. He guessed some small talk wouldn’t hurt before he and Astro said anything about themselves.  
“U-UM… ARE YOU FEELING ANY BETTER TODAY…?”  
He knew that Emmet was still upset, but… maybe having a night of rest might’ve calmed him, even if it was just a little bit.

He just shrugged and then messed around with the crafting machine. Astro couldn't ignore the fact that Thomson was examining the gun, not with interest, but more of drool boredom.  
Astro didn't feel like pointing it out. He didn't even know how to start this train-wreck of a conversation.  
He rubbed his forearm nervously.

Ah… that small talk didn’t last that long, did it? He looked back to Astro.  
“SH-SHOULD I…?”  
He asked this softly, asking if he should mention it now, or if Astro wanted to say something first. He fidgeted with his hands. Now that he was actually in the room with the crew, it was hard to be confident…

Astro didn't know how to respond, so he just shrugged like Emmet. It was strange to see the Captain in a bad mood. Like, a very bad mood. He was usually calm and happy and was ready to talk about anything, but now, he was just… hollow.  
It spooked Astro, and he didn't like to see him like that. Maybe… no.... he didn't know how to help.  
Ugh.... my brain has been so jumbled ever since.... since that day Backey asked me to get that can of soup off the top shelf. It was so.... abnormal. But, it was the way it was.

Backey stared at Emmet for a moment, unsure if this would be the best time or not. Although, if they didn’t do it now, he doesn’t know if he’d be able to work up the courage to mention it later… He looked back to Astro, and whispered,  
“D-DO YOU WANT TO WAIT…?”  
Backey was letting this be the final question before he went ahead and said something. He wanted to know what Astro thought before continuing.

“...Maybe w-we should…”  
Astro didn't know if now or later would be a good time, b-  
"You should what?" Tom suddenly asked.  
Shit.  
Astro looked down to Backey, holding back his feelings of pure panic.

...Fuck. Well, it’s too late to go back now. Backey reached over and gripped Astro’s hand with his own. His other free hand was shaking.  
“W-WE… JUST… UM… HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL Y-YOU GUYS…”  
He looked down, not wanting to look at the crew. I-it would be good to just… get it out of the way right? That way, they don’t have to worry about it later…

This got everybody's attention, and they all looked at the two. He gripped Backey's hand nervously. If he could, he'd be sweating like a pig... if that's the idiom they use.  
“U-uhm, yes…”  
Was the only thing Astro could mutter. He looked at the crew nervously, but with a tall stance.

“ASTRO AND I UM… HAVE BOTH R-REALIZED SOMETHING ABOUT OURSELVES, AND HAVE COME TO T-TERMS WITH IT. W-WE UH…”  
He trailed off, confidence fading a bit. He squeezed Astro’s hand for reassurance.

Emmet now looked intrigued.  
"Yes...?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Yeah, we don't keep secrets here," Tom said, leaning forward a second.  
Emmet shot a glance at him before looking back to them.

Backey took a shaky breath, trying to calm himself. It’ll be ok… it’ll be ok. You just have to say it, and then it will all be over. Whatever comes will come.  
“WE UM… DISCOVERED TH-THAT… WE BOTH HAD F-FEELINGS FOR EACH OTHER. WE BOTH ARE UH… ‘GAY’.”  
Backey paused. His whole body seemed to be shaking now.  
“W-WE’RE UM… DATING NOW. TH-THAT’S ALL.”

The crew stared at them with what Astro could only guess was awe. Emmet seemed the most surprised, however. His glasses slid down to the bottom of his nose, and he didn't seem to care to push them back up.  
Astro gave a tiny nod, and the shuttle had fallen into silence.  
His eyes flicked to Tom, who was slowly but surely grinning. Wait, what?

Backey looked over all the crew’s reactions… well, at least none of them seemed to be negative… wait, why was Tom grinning like that? He set his gaze upon Tom, confused.  
“WH-WHY ARE YOU SMILING LIKE THAT?”

"I can see the headlines in the newspaper now: Astrocitizen's Only AI Fall for Each Other with the Stars!" He spread his hands in the air like he was looking at a billboard. Oh, that's what that means.  
"How thin are the odds?" He grinned, leaning back in his chair. Emmet still didn't say anything.

Backey’s screen brightened a bit in embarrassment.  
“I-I DON’T… I DON’T KNOW…”  
Backey looked away from Tom, glanced to Astro, before looking back now at Emmet.  
“I-IS… IS THIS OK?”

Emmet took his glasses off and brushed them on his shirt sleeve before saying-  
"I-I don't see why it wouldn't be acceptable, I-I'm just a little... surprised."  
"Yeah, I mean.... just... I don't think anybody expected this." Tom chimed in on a more serious note.  
Astro looked over to Crewmate Bronco, who still hadn't really said anything on the matter.

“Y-yeah um… there’s nothing wrong with it, I just… we didn’t expect this.” Baby mumbled in awe, before saying, “I-I’m happy that you two figured out your feelings for yourselves though…” Baby went quiet after this. He didn’t even know AIs could fall in love. This must’ve been a very special bond…  
Backey sighed with relief. Well, got that out of the way. He finally just stared at Astro, feeling giddy.

“Apologies for dumping this information on you guys, we didn’t know when to say it…”  
He shrugged one shoulder as he said this. Emmet's words almost made him jump in surprise-  
"H-How long has this been around?" He crossed his arms in a focused way.  
Astro looked down to Backey, a new flood of worry in his screen. I mean yes, it's fine to say that it started yesterday, but the full story was... confusing.

“U-UM… WELL, WE ONLY TOLD EACH OTHER ABOUT OUR FEELINGS LAST NIGHT… BUT I UM… FIRST DISCOVERED HOW I FELT ABOUT ASTRO ABOUT THREE DAYS AGO… ALTHOUGH, I MIGHT HAVE HAD THOSE FEELINGS FOR LONGER, BUT WAS UNAWARE OF IT…”  
Backey had uncertainty in his eyes. Just how long had he had feelings for Astro without realizing it?

“I-I only realized last night....”  
Astro nodded. He would talk way more, but he didn't have anything to say. Noticing that his hand was still intertwined with Backey's, he rubbed his neck in embarrassment. It was still all new to him.  
"So you're telling me you've been together for approximately..." Tom stopped his sentence to count numbers in his head-  
"About eleven or twelve hours?" He pointed a finger at them in curiosity. Astro quickly did the math in his head, and he was about right.

“U-UM… I TH-THINK SO…”  
Backey didn’t really have much more to say. Was there a point to saying how long they had been together…?

"...Huh..." Was all that Tom said.  
Emmet spoke up again-  
"Well, I hope you have a happy relationship." He then gave the worst excuse of a smile and went back to the crafting machine. Astro was puzzled. That was it? It felt like he'd be interrogated, but no, it was just...  
Weird.  
Astro sighed, releasing all of his dread and doubt. At least that's over with... hopefully.

“OK… THANKS, I GUESS.  
Backey tried to let himself relax now. Although that conversation was uh… a little awkward, they got through it. He looked to Astro, a happy expression on his face.  
“SO… WHAT DO WE DO NOW?”

“I don’t have a clue…”  
Astro let go of Backey's hand to move it because it had been immobilized for so long. Emmet mumbled-  
"You could write the morning report." Oh, crap! I forgot!  
“S-sorry, Backey, I have to write this-!”  
He dashed off to the main table and immediately got to work, writing the report in his head. This one… this one will be long.

“A-AH, IT’S OK…!”  
Backey kinda just… stood there for a moment, before moving over to sit near Astro, not really knowing what else to do.

The thing about writing a report that Astro hated that was he couldn't really move without erasing the file that he was working on, so he just had to sit there whilst Backey sat by him. He wanted to say something, but that's part of it too. It's like he turns into an inanimate object.  
To try and get it finished he wrote faster, but that just made him make mistakes one after the other, so he slowed down again.

Backey waited patiently, watching Astro as he wrote.  
“Y-YOU DON’T HAVE TO RUSH ASTRO, I CAN WAIT FOR YOU…”

Ugh, Backey didn't know. Why did he have to do this? But, he was already a third through, so he just kept writing.

Backey just scooted a bit closer to Astro, looking curiously at what he was typing.

"-py to see that you're okay with my current relationship. I wouldn't say that I'd be mad if you weren't but.... good choice, captain."  
He was a completely different person on paper.  
Captain Ellis probably even knew this.

O-oh, that’s going on the report too? I mean, Backey didn’t see why it wouldn’t be included, it’s just weird to see it on paper. He didn’t say this out loud, however, and just continued to watch Astro, eagerly waiting for him to finish writing.

Ah, now that the main bits of information were done, he only had to write a few more things, a bit... alright quite a bunch, but he was getting closer.

Backey got just a bit closer to Astro and leaned on him, hoping this wasn’t disturbing him. He continued to wait, absentmindedly drawing shapes into the dust on the floor.

"-completed: Mask. Tosdfh-" Backey leaned on Astro, which surprised him, causing him to fail horribly. He would be laughing his ass off, but he had to finish this. Deleting that word, he continued.  
Soon, the spot where Backey was leaning on, which was his shoulder, grew warm. Astro felt his screen grow in light. He wasn't hiding it that much since the crew probably didn't know what it meant unless they upgrade the handbook.... Ah, that will never happen.... soon.

Backey’s screen grew a bit in light as well. You know, for a robot, Astro was surprisingly comfortable to lie on…  
He continued to draw in the dust on the floor. Some of the shapes he was drawing were hearts.

Astro typed steadily away. Whilst he was, he saw Tom's expression change as he looked down to Backey's doodles. From confused to very, very amused.  
...There was something about Tom that you couldn't put into a certain category.

Backey wasn’t really in a position to see Tom’s expression, so he paid no mind to it. Astro was warm, and it seemed to make him relax more. He felt sleepy, but he tried to stay awake. He didn’t want to fall asleep on Astro…  
Backey just tried to get into a more comfortable position. He wrapped his arms around Astro affectionately, snuggling into him.

"-no longer hungry." Whew! Finally over with that. He saved it and sprung back to life, almost literally, because when he did, he jumped like he saw a soviet.

When Astro did this Backey flopped over onto the floor. Oops. His screen brightened a bit from embarrassment, dusting himself off once he got back up. Maybe he should’ve paid more attention to when Astro was finishing the report…  
“AH, A-ARE YOU FINISHED?”

“Yeah, sorry about that, Backey.”  
He grabbed Backey's arm and pulled him up without Backey's input, but he knew he'd ask for it anyways. Maybe it was because he felt bad, but Backey was already back up, so no worries.

“N-NO, YOU’RE FINE, I PROBABLY SHOULD’VE BEEN PAYING MORE ATTENTION… AND THANKS FOR PULLING ME UP…”  
It seems like whenever Backey’s around Astro, he’s more easily distracted…  
“SO, WHAT DO YOU WANNA DO NOW?”

“Well, I have to transport the message into the main computer… but after that… I-I’m not sure..”  
He grabbed the cable that he was so familiar with and plugged it into the side of his head. Again, like when he was typing, he was unable to move whilst he did this. But, he was locked into a straight standing position, and it was a bit uncomfortable.

“HMM, ALRIGHT…”  
Backey thought for a moment while Astro was transporting the message. Hm… maybe they could go on a walk? It could kinda give them some privacy, and a chance to stretch their joints… and it would be a nice way to spend time with Astro… alone.  
“I HAVE AN IDEA, ONCE YOU’RE DONE WITH THAT…”

Astro would've responded, but he was busy. The scanner was taking longer than expected, so they had to stay there for a moment.

Backey waited patiently for Astro to finish, scuffing his feet on the floor a bit as he waited. Might as well wait to speak since Astro couldn’t really reply.

Finally, after a few more minutes, the signature beeping sound was made, and Astro awoke again. Sighing, he unplugged the cord and watched Emmet immediately go over to the table to read it. For some reason, Astro wasn't very pleased with that.  
He looked over to Backey, and remembered what he said-  
“Oh, yes, what was your idea?”

“I WAS JUST TH-THINKING… DO YOU WANNA GO ON A WALK AROUND THE SHUTTLE? IT MIGHT BE NICE YOU KNOW, MAYBE A CHANGE OF SCENERY WOULD BENEFIT US…”  
Would… would this count as a date?

Astro thought about it. Well, it would be nice for him to move around, but the temperature out there is... would be quite overwhelming to the human skin. If they stayed out there too long, of course.  
The same couldn't be said for his own "skin", but it could still be unhealthy. He asked-  
“Well, how long would we be out there?”

Ah, there was that factor… uhhh…  
“I GUESS NOT FOR TOO LONG, JUST ENOUGH TO TALK A LITTLE BIT I GUESS, I DON’T KNOW…”  
Backey paused. It would be hot out there, so what would be a safe amount of time to stay out?  
“HOWEVER MUCH WE’RE COMFORTABLE WITH I GUESS,” he said with a shrug.

“Alright, that’s fine with me.”  
He looked down at Backey, and the, now growing familiar, warm feeling filled him.  
He stared at Backey's screen, a happy, protective feeling had fallen over him. This must be love.

“ALRIGHTY THEN.”  
Backey gazed up at Astro, also getting a warm feeling. Astro’s stare made him feel like there were butterflies in his stomach. …I mean, he doesn’t actually have a stomach, but still. He took Astro’s hand in his.  
“WANNA HEAD OUT NOW?”

He looked down at it and rubbed Backey's hand with his thumb softly. He looked back up,  
“Sure…”  
He waited for Backey to stand up so that he could help him. Still couldn't get up by himself for some reason.

Backey stood up, and pulled Astro up with him, without waiting to confirm if Astro wanted help. Just seemed it would be quicker if he just did it.

Astro dusted himself off as he said-  
“Thanks, Backey, you knew I needed that, huh?”  
He was about to turn to say something to Captain Ellis when he himself said-  
"I know what you two are doing, go ahead, I'll rope you back in if I need your assistance."  
.....It felt so weird not really being in charge.

“TH-THANKS CAPTAIN…”  
Backey looked to Astro before taking a few steps towards the airlock.  
“GUESS WE’LL BE GOING THEN…”

Astro nodded. He had a strange idea. Why not put it into action?  
He quickly stepped in front of Backey, but not to a noticeable point, then opened the airlock for him and waved his hand to it, signaling for Backey to go through.

Backey didn’t really question this, nodding his thanks at Astro before going through the airlock.

Astro shut the door behind him and looked at the world. It was nice out the window, but actually outside was...pretty plain. But, the colors were pretty. He looked off into the distance and saw a couple of pyramids, and also a couple of towers as well. They were yellow like the sand, as if they did a horrible job of blending it in with the environment.  
The sun was still coming up, so at the top of the sky, there was a pretty gradient of purples and yellows. Huh... kinda like Earth...

Backey stared up at the sky, taking a moment to admire its beauty. He stood a few steps in front of Astro, standing still, just soaking in his surroundings. It was nice to get out of the shuttle. Although the shuttle feels like home to him, he likes to have a change of scenery once in a while. It was like a breath of fresh air.

Astro watched him, knowing he'd have a small smile on his face. Just looking at Backey all distracted like that made him feel... true joy. He knew he was happy with Backey.  
To think that this was yesterday when he found out that Backey loved him... and that he loved him back, was....astounding. He must have had these feelings for longer, because if he didn't... Backey really stole his figurative heart.

Backey took a few more steps out into the sand, feeling it underneath his feet. It was warm, but not too warm, as it was still morning. Backey sighed, before looking back to Astro.  
“ARE YOU COMING?”

“Y-yeah, I will…”  
Astro walked up beside Backey, letting him decide where they were gonna go. He wondered if his idea had gone to waste, but he knew that there would be another opportunity soon.

Backey felt excitement course through his circuits. He decided to lead Astro north-east, looking to examine one of the small towers nearby the shuttle. He didn’t really want to go too far, but he was curious. It would be interesting to scan these ancient looking structures… He tried not to walk too fast, wanting to stay close to Astro. He couldn’t hide the pep in his step though.

Whilst walking, Astro looked around the area. Sand. Sand. Sand. More Sand. Sand mound.  
Pyramid. Another pyramid. A tower. ...Y'know, the environment can get a bit...repetitive.  
He looked over to Backey and watched his excitement. He wished he could say the same for him, but he was more happy to be out in the open to relax.

While walking, Backey felt the need to hold Astro’s hand again, so he reached out and took it while still walking. He really liked the feeling of holding Astro’s hand, and it felt nice to not feel afraid of what Astro might think if he took it. He noticed that compared to his hands, Astro’s hands were a bit bigger. He wonders if his hands were just small, if Astro’s were just big, or if it was some combination of the two.

Astro looked down at their hands. He looked back up, thinking about their relationship. Again, to think that they got together only a day ago... It seemed almost... unnatural...?  
Astro suddenly felt bad about thinking about it, so he just dismissed it. He looked at the sand dunes around him and Backey swirl in the wind. Huh, seems like it's having fun, too.

Soon enough, Backey and Astro reached the small tower that was mentioned earlier. Although it wasn’t as tall as the three main towers surrounding the large pyramid, it was still fairly tall. At least, to Backey it was. It looked like it was made of… sandstone? Probably. Backey looked to Astro.  
“THESE THINGS ARE PRETTY TALL… I WONDER WHAT THEY WERE FOR IN THE PAST.”  
Although it might not really matter all that much, the lore of this planet was still interesting to Backey. He had to wonder what life once lived here on this planet…

Astro studied the strange orb at the top of it, which was strangely shiny, taking in Backey's words.  
“Yeah, the only thing that crosses me would be… a receiver? It slightly looks like the satellite towers… back on… Earth…”  
Astro suddenly felt strange. Like a weird... hollow feeling replaced with pain. Like something was missing from him. He read about Earth when he was back on the station, but.... he knew it was still a part of him. He wouldn't be here... without people from Earth...

“O-OH… YEAH, IT DOES…”  
The feeling came over Backey too once Astro mentioned it. Earth… he knew he’d probably never see it again. He stared at the tower, saddened. It had been weeks since they were blown sixty parsecs away from Earth, but it still made him sad thinking about it…

Astro stared at it more. Earth... home....  
He looked over to Backey and brought his hand up. He rubbed Backey's shoulder, seeing the same sadness reflected from him. Ugh, I did it again.  
“C’mon, let’s look at them at a closer view…”

“Y-YEAH, LET’S DO THAT…”  
Backey led the way, trying to shake off the sad feeling he had. He’s supposed to be enjoying himself, not getting sad!

Astro watched the surrounding pass him as he walked on. In the back of his head, he hoped Backey wasn't sad. That was the opposite of what he wanted.  
He glanced over to Backey, who seemed a little..... yeah, a bit glum about it. He cursed himself in his head and restrained from smacking himself.

Trying to distract himself from his saddening thoughts about Earth, he brought something else up as they got closer to the tower.  
“I WONDER WHAT THAT SHINY ORB ON TOP OF IT DOES… IS IT LIKE… SOME SORT OF TRANSMITTER...? OR SOMETHING?”

“I would think so…”  
He looked at the top of it, watching the still rising sun reflect off of it.

Backey nodded, before continuing on. Once they got close enough to the tower, he stopped. It seemed like a weird energy came from this tower… it kind of unsettled him.  
“WHAT KIND OF MESSAGES WERE THEY SENDING FROM THIS THING…?”  
Backey asked, not particularly to Astro but as a general question. These things were strange…

Astro felt the strange aurora too, and he stepped back from it a small bit. He didn't know much about the history of this planet, only that it used to inhabit.... some type of species.  
“I don’t know, but that these things even exist is… interesting.”

Backey stepped back a bit as well, not wanting to be in the aura any longer than he needed to be.  
“YES, IT IS QUITE INTERESTING…  
Backey stood there, staring at the tower, but without any more knowledge on the matter, he could only guess at the history behind the tower. He looked to the three towers surrounding the main pyramid. The crew had just gotten back from the pyramid… he kinda wonders what happened there. The towers seemed to be a lot taller, with the sun, moon, and star shapes at the top of them. They seemed important.  
“DO YOU THINK THAT THE MAIN THREE TOWERS IN THE DISTANCE ARE ANY DIFFERENT THAN THIS ONE?”

Astro turned his head looked at them too. The way they were....  
“I… I’m not… sure…”  
He grumbled as he continued-  
“Which is weird for me, because I always seem to know more than the crew on this matter, based on the information that we’ve collected, but, it’s like I’m…”  
He looked down at his robotic hands and clenched them slowly-  
“...distracted.”

“...HOW SO?”  
Backey questioned, growing slightly concerned at seeing Astro clench his hands. Was something wrong…?

“I-I don’t know, the data inside my head feels all jumbled… maybe it’s the heat getting to me, I’m not positive, but…”  
He trailed off, not knowing how to continue. He looked back up to the pyramid and towers in the distance.

“HMM… MAYBE… IT MIGHT ALSO BE BECAUSE OF OTHER FACTORS THOUGH… WE MIGHT HAVE TO LOOK INTO THAT IF THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT PERSISTS…”  
Backey sighed, looking off into the distance like Astro.  
“IF THE HEAT IS STARTING TO GET TO YOU, DO YOU WANNA HEAD ON BACK TO THE SHUTTLE? I DON’T WANT YOU TO OVERHEAT OUT HERE…”

Astro scanned himself, which was probably a clear sign that he wasn't hot, but the temp came in at 84. He was fine, but... he didn't like this place...  
“Uh, unless you want to stay here… I kinda want to evacuate this place. It… it gives me a feeling that… that I don’t like..”

“NO, UH… I DON’T PARTICULARLY LIKE THIS PLACE EITHER… IT GIVES ME A WEIRD FEELING AS WELL… AND BESIDES, EVEN IF I DID WANT TO STAY HERE, IF YOU’RE UNCOMFORTABLE, THEN I WOULD WANT TO LEAVE, BECAUSE YOU BEING UNCOMFORTABLE IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I WANT.”  
Backey patted Astro on the arm. Hopefully this weird feeling will go away once they get away from this tower…

Astro looked down at him and beeped a happy note quietly, happy that Backey obliged.  
He headed off back to where they shuttle lay, seeing it off in the distance. Suddenly, his thought popped back up in his database, and he wondered if he missed his chance. He wanted to do it in the beginning, but Backey was so curious about the towers, and just kinda ran along, and.... it was cute.

Backey beeped as well, and then quickly walked to catch up to Astro. Astro might be a bit slow, but his big strides almost made up for it. Thankfully, Backey is actually quite limber because of his smaller frame. He walked a few steps ahead of Astro.

...Why could Astro sense a race imminent? He would have laughed at the feeling, but he knew Backey would've asked about it. So, instead, he used his longer legs and sped forward, passing Backey in a matter of seconds. He did his best not to make it too obvious.

Backey obviously noticed when Astro passed him by. He could tell Astro was walking faster now… he just wasn’t quite sure why. Maybe so they would get to the shuttle quicker? Backey sped up a bit, trying to keep pace with Astro.

Astro glanced over to Backey for a moment before speeding up a bit more, striding quite faster. It was a speed walk, if that's what humans call it.  
The shuttle was still a bit of a ways away, and Astro was still pent up, so why not be a weirdo and race your boyfriend? ....What am I doing…? Ugh....

What is Astro doing?? He didn’t really catch on to what Astro was up to, and probably wouldn’t until Astro broke out into a run. He simply sped up even more into a light jog.

Astro suddenly giggled a small bit, then picked up his pace, now doing a lazy lunge-like movement.  
He felt energy pulse through his circuits, and he knew if this continued, he would start running like mad.

Astro’s giggle ended up tipping Backey off. If he was laughing, he was probably doing this on purpose… Oh, is this a race? Backey let out a giggle of his own. If it’s a race Astro wants, a race is what he will get. He let more energy flow into his legs, then suddenly broke out into a sprint.  
“CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, ASTRO!”  
Backey called over his shoulder, laughing a bit.

“Hey, that’s not fair! Agh, Backey-!  
Astro yelled playfully, charging up to him and running in a sprint as well. Backey was still a distance away from him, though.

“I’D SAY THAT YOUR LONG STRIDES MAKE THIS UNFAIR, ASTRO!”  
Backey yelled back. Backey noticed that Astro was a bit further behind, and slowed down just a tad to give Astro a bit of a chance. He found races to be more interesting when the racers were closer together instead of one person being in the lead the whole time. He could feel what was best described as adrenaline rushing through him.

“Yeah, as you accelerate past me!”  
He shot back, laughing. Letting all his energy fly, he flew past Backey and ran ahead, taking the chance that Backey gave him.

“HEYY-”  
Backey interjected, before speeding back up. He was gonna win this, he was sure of it! He ran past Astro a bit. They were steadily approaching the shuttle.

Astro was just about to run as fast as he could when he tripped on something.  
“AH-!”  
Sand. Sand and dirt was all he could see after that.

Backey could hear the thud behind him, and he saw Astro in the sand. He stopped where he was for a second.  
“ARE YOU OK??”  
Backey called to him. He was probably ok, but he just wanted to be sure.

Astro didn't move, but his hands kept digging at the sand like he was struggling with something. He also seemed to be shaking.

When Astro didn’t respond or get up right away, it concerned Backey a bit. He ran back to Astro.  
“DO YOU NEED HELP??”

Uh....yeah, I can't move.  
He waved his hand in the air thinking that Backey's hand was extended, but only grabbed his knee. He shook more.

Backey wobbled a bit because of this, but he tried to keep his balance. He took Astro’s hand off his knee, grabbing his hand with both of his own hands before pulling Astro up out the sand with a grunt of effort.

Astro was cracking up with laughter. He was pulled to his knees, he sat down and laughed and laughed.  
He mumbled words between his bursts.  
“I-I tripped- I-”  
He dusted the sand off of his face shakily.

Backey smiled at hearing Astro’s laugh. Backey snorted, before breaking out into a fit of giggles. It seems like Astro’s laughter was contagious. He sat down in the sand with Astro.  
“Y-YOU DID--”  
Backey said in between his giggles.

Astro started to calm down. Laughing, he tried to get up...... but the fell down again. Oh yeah, being unbalanced and all. This only made him laugh harder.

Backey’s laughter intensified at this. It felt nice to release all his tension this way.  
“A-ARE YOU ALRIGHT??”  
Was all that Backey could manage to say.

“I-I can’t get up!”  
Astro wheezed. He knew he'd have watery eyes if he was human.

Backey chuckled a bit more as he got up.  
“H-HERE, I’LL TRY TO P-PULL YOU UP AGAIN--”  
Backey then grabbed Astro’s hand again, made sure he could keep his balance, then pulled him up.

Astro wobbled a bit, but then regained his balance. He glanced at Backey and giggled when he looked away. He was acting like a child, but thankfully he didn't notice, or this joy would die.

It warmed Backey’s heart to see Astro this joyful. Sure, they were both being a bit childish right now, but did that really matter? What was important was that they were having fun. ...There was also something that Backey wanted to do, but he was too short to do it.  
“C-CAN YOU LEAN DOWN FOR A SECOND, ASTRO?”  
Backey said, calming down but still obviously amused by what just happened.

Astro looked back at Backey, confused.  
“W-Why would you want me to lean down?”  
But he did anyway, resting his hands on his knees.

“SO I CAN DO THIS!”  
Taking his chance, Backey cupped Astro’s face with one of his hands and gave him a kiss, a small spark flying between them.

Astro flinched when Backey kissed him and he almost jerked his head up. Blinking, his screen slowly grew brighter.

Backey pulled away, giggling.  
“S-SORRY, I JUST COULDN’T HELP IT. YOU LOOKED REALLY CUTE AND I WANTED TO KISS YOU…”  
He fidgeted with his hands.  
“THE ONE THING ABOUT OUR HEIGHT DIFFERENCE IS THAT IT MAKES IT TO WHERE I CAN’T KISS YOU WITHOUT YOU LEANING DOWN… SO THAT’S BASICALLY WHY I ASKED.”

“O-oh, okay… thank you…”  
Astro flicked his gaze to Backey with a warm look, his screen growing a slight bit brighter.  
Again, his thought knocked on his door again, and a sudden energy filled him. But, he still didn't know when to do it. The shuttle was still a bit away, but they were much closer than before.

“Y-YOU’RE WELCOME…”  
Backey returned Astro’s warm gaze, screen slightly brightened, before looking back in the direction of the shuttle.  
“WELP, I GUESS WE SHOULD CONTINUE ON BACK TO THE SHUTTLE NOW.”  
Backey started to walk again, trying not to go too far ahead of Astro.

“I… guess we should.”  
Astro nodded, hiding his feeling of disappointment. He started walking with Backey, but he soon fell a slight bit behind in thought.

Backey listened to the crunching of the sand beneath his feet. His footsteps were going at a steady pace he noticed, meanwhile Astro’s were slowing. He looked back to him curiously.  
“...ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU’RE FALLING BEHIND A BIT.”  
Backey felt like he was missing something, but couldn’t quite tell what. He wasn’t exactly a mind reader.

“Oh, I guess I just… Just kinda want to… uh, show you something…”  
Astro stopped, looking down at the sand.

“OH, REALLY? WHAT IS IT?”  
Backey moved a few steps closer to Astro. What could it be? It could be anything, really. He didn’t know.

Astro chuckled a bit. It wasn't that important.  
“Well, I remember researching some stuff back on the station, whenever I had the free time, I’d do that… uh, anyway, I found interesting information, th-that might be cool here.”  
Probably the longest way he could have put that into words, but he continued anyway-  
“Y’know, if you kick the sand, it’ll fly up, right? W-well, if you kick it just right, kinda with your foot tilted, it’ll… It’ll really fly.”  
He demonstrated by kicking to the side, and a tidal wave of sand flew in that direction, swirling gracefully.

Ohh, that’s what he wanted to show me? He had to admit, it was kinda neat.  
“SO… LIKE THIS?”  
Backey tried to mimic Astro’s movements as best as he could, kicking off to the side into the sand as well. The wave of sand wasn’t as big as Astro’s, but it flew pretty far. Backey chuckled at this.

“Yeah, that’s right! But, you want to shift your foot at more of a 78-degree angle, so the sand will build up under the foot, then fall out when you use more force as you kick it.”  
This time he kicked harder, and the sand flew right a Backey. Whoops. Forgot that you shouldn't really face someone when doing that.

Backey sputtered at this, the sand hitting him in the face. He wiped his screen off before a mischievous look crossed his face. He knew Astro probably didn’t mean to do that, but he was starting to feel playful again.  
“AH ALRIGHT, SO LIKE THIS?”  
Backey then made sure to kick the sand as Astro described, but towards Astro. Hehehe~

Astro jumped, not expecting the sand to hit him in the face either. When he regained himself, he didn't mind to wipe the sand off as he said-  
“...Exactly.”  
He put on a fake menacing voice. Heh, it almost sounded real.  
He didn't bother to kick back, since they were "even", so he continued-  
“Well, anyway, if you tilt your foot just right, you can actually, uh… here-”  
He prepared himself, and then he started to twirl. The sand flew everywhere, like a water fountain, but the way the sun glistened off of it perfectly made it look like golden water.  
He felt his sensors go a bit wonky, so he stopped, letting the sand die and fall on the floor, making a sound like rain on pavement. He was a bit dizzy, but he looked up at Backey, seeing if he liked it.

Backey had let out a quiet giggle at Astro’s reaction to him “getting revenge”, but stopped as Astro started twirling. He stood there, transfixed, as Astro let the golden rain shower around them. It… looked so pretty…  
“WOW…”  
Backey couldn’t help but let his astonishment show. He didn’t expect that…

Astro's screen flickered a bit brighter in embarrassment.  
“Y-yeah, I-I mean, it doesn’t really help us, I-I guess it’s just something to do i-if you ever come back out here again. M-maybe you could learn to do figurative dance, who knows.”  
He joked, shrugging.  
“W-why don’t you try it…?”  
He pointed to the sand, curious to see if Backey could do it, too.

“M-MAYBE… AND SURE, I DON’T KNOW IF I COULD DO IT AS WELL AS YOU JUST DID, BUT I COULD TRY.  
Backey also prepared himself, trying to tilt his foot the way Astro had, before starting to twirl himself. The sand went out in a spiral around them, going a bit faster as Backey picked up speed. It could almost be described as sprinkler-like. The golden rain fell to the ground around him as he stopped, a bit wobbly.  
“W-WOAH, THAT MAKES YOU A B-BIT DIZZY…”  
Backey tried to make the world stop spinning around as he looked up at Astro.

“Y-yeah, heh, you got it really fast…”  
Astro commented, looking at the sand he moved.

“TH-THANKS… GUESS I JUST LEARNED FROM THE BEST…”  
Backey wobbled over to Astro, before sort of leaning on him a bit to give his sensors a chance to recalibrate a bit. He didn’t really wanna fall because his sensors were struggling to catch up with him.

Astro balanced Backey, chuckling.  
“Y-you alright? You seem a bit tipsy.”

“Y-YEAH I’M FINE, I MIGHT’VE JUST WENT A BIT TOO FAST IS ALL…”  
He paused for a bit as his sensors adjusted themselves. Note to self: don’t go so fast the next time you try and spin like that.

“W-well, I was going to show you something else, b-but, if you feel dizzy, I don’t know if that’ll feel nice..”  
Astro mumbled, patting Backey's shoulder and letting go of him.

“N-NO, I WANNA SEE!”  
Backey’s sensors finally recalibrated and was now eager to see what Astro would do next.

“Okay, well, u-uhm, j-just take my hands, th-then look at my feet, okay? Make sure to try and... Uh, not get too dizzy. Do what my feet do…”  
Astro tilted his foot so that it was a quarter on its side, balancing with the other.  
“I-I’ll go left, you go right, i-if that makes sense..”

“A-AH, ALRIGHT…”  
Backey did his best to follow Astro’s instructions, taking Astro's hands, looking down, and tilting his foot to the right.  
“IS THIS RIGHT?”

“U-uh, yeah, that’s correct.”  
Astro prepared himself as well.  
“Alright, are you ready?”  
He looked up. He wanted Backey to be positive he wanted to do this.

Backey looked up to meet Astro’s gaze and nodded.  
“READY AS I’LL EVER BE…”

Astro nodded, then kicked off the sand with his free foot and let sand fly from the other, creating a swirl with Backey's help. You'd have to kick multiple times to keep flying in the beginning, but once they start to kick up speed, they'll feel like they’re flying.  
“I’m gonna let go of one of my hands, whichever one is attached to the one I don’t let go, hang on really tightly, okay? Then it’ll be easier.”  
He kinda had to raise his voice from the sand.

“O-OK!”  
Backey braced himself to do as Astro said, wondering where they were going with this.

Once they caught enough speed, Astro let go of Backey's right hand, letting it catch the air. He nodded for Backey to do the same.

Backey let go of Astro’s left hand, and he made his hand that was still holding onto Astro’s grip more tightly.

They started to twirl with little footwork, using their arms to help balance and hands to catch the wind. Sand flew like millions of tiny butterflies, all golden and gray and bronze wings glittered in the dawn. It sounded like a rainstick with all the sand hitting the ground.  
Astro stared at it in awe, even though a lot was a blur. It was cool to see it up close.

Backey watched the sand as well, and despite it being a bit blurry, he thought it was beautiful. The way they were spinning made him feel like he was weightless, and while it felt weird, he loved it.

Astro did his best to look up at the sky, which was a yellow whirlpool of colors. Seeing the purple and yellow and oranges... it made Astro wonder if this is... this is home. Or, if it's like home. He looked to the sun, but he quickly looked away. Ow, his sensors.

Backey continued to admire the scenery around him, blurry colors flashing before his eyes as they continued to twirl. The sand continued to hit the ground around them. He wondered how long they would have to continue twirling to move all the sand and hit whatever was beneath it. He doesn’t see it happening anytime soon, but he was a bit curious about it. His sensors were starting to feel a bit weird though, they should probably stop soon…

Astro glanced over to Backey, which seemed to throw his sensors off a bit. But, he watched his expressions change everywhere he looked. He smiled, or would have if he could, and looked back to the sand again.

Backey eventually tore his gaze away from the world around him and looked to Astro. He seemed like he was having fun… which warmed Backey’s heart to see. Hgh ok, ok, they should stop now he doesn’t want to be too dizzy--  
“U-UM ASTRO? THIS IS REALLY FUN BUT I’M STARTING TO GET DIZZY AGAIN…!”  
Backey tried his best to say this while still twirling around. It was a bit hard to focus on speech while twirling like this…

“A-alright, I-I kinda am too-”  
Astro said, putting the breaks on his foot, which made a tsunami of sand fly ahead of him.

Backey did the same, creating a small tsunami of sand as well. As they halted to a stop he held his head with his free hand, his other hand still gripping onto Astro’s firmly. Feeling dizzy wasn’t the best feeling in the world, but thankfully it goes away relatively fast. He looks up to Astro.  
“TH-THANK YOU FOR SHOWING ME ALL THIS ASTRO, THAT WAS REALLY NEAT…”

“You’re welcome, Backey, I-I just thought i-it’d be c-cool.”  
Astro said, wobbling on his feet. He held onto Backey for support, but he knew that the support wouldn't last long. Oooohhhh, my sensors are not calibrated correctly, Oh geez…

Woah ok that’s not helping me recalibrate-- Backey stumbled back a bit, trying to not to lose his balance, but he was basically on the verge of falling over. He wasn’t sure if he wanted a repeat of them falling on top of each other… just remembering back to when he fell on top of Astro made his screen brighten up a bit.  
“C-CAREFUL ASTRO, YOU’RE GONNA MAKE US FALL!”

“P-probably-”  
Astro half-joked, half-stated in fear. He gripped on Backey's arm harder, maybe too hard, and spread his legs apart like a standing toddler to regain his balance.

Ouch, ok, that hurt a bit- Backey winced at Astro’s grip on his arm, but still tried his best to regain his balance as well. He held onto Astro, sort of teeter-tottering with his feet, struggling a bit.

Okay, maybe it's getting a bit better..? He turned his head to look at Backey, but- Oh God, nope, they're not done. Ugh, ow my head, why does it feel like their fluids in me? Ugh, it's so gross feeling-

After a little bit, Backey felt like the world wasn’t going in circles anymore. His vision still was a bit distorted, but it was getting better. He tried not to lean too much on Astro as his sensors recalibrated, but he still held on tightly. Whew, as long as Astro didn’t suddenly stumble they should be alright.

....Ugh, I think I'm gonna-  
“B-Backey, I-I’m gonna-”  
Too late. Astro lost his balance by falling backwards, forcing Backey to fall with him. Damnit.

“W-WOAAHH-!”  
Welp, shit, I guess this is happening-- Astro’s warning didn’t really help since he warned him practically in the middle of falling, so he couldn’t escape falling with Astro. He grunted as they hit the ground, sprawled out on top of Astro. Well, at least the sand gave them a soft landing… doesn’t make this any less embarrassing though. His screen brightened, realizing once he sat up a bit that he was basically sitting on top of Astro like before. This gave him a sense of deja vu…  
“UGH… ASTRO ARE YOU ALRIGHT…?”

“Ack, ugh… Y-yeah…”  
Astro felt the warm sand around his body, as well as Backey on top o-... Backey on top of him.... Isn't this familiar?  
The pressure from him and the sand was...actually not very uncomfortable.... It still was, but.... Astro didn't know how to put it into a sentence in his mind. Probably because his boyfriend was literally on top of him.... again.

Realizing that he should probably use his brain and get off of Astro, he did just that, screen brightening more as he brushed any stray sand off of himself, trying not to look at Astro. God this was embarrassing…  
“S-SORRY ABOUT THAT A-ASTRO…”

“I-it’s o-okay…”  
Astro stayed in the sand, knowing that if he even attempted to get up, it'd be a bad idea.  
Having Backey on top of him like that... it gave him the strangest feeling, like someone was injecting some sort of bug into him that made him... crazy. W-Well, not crazy, just... weird.  
His screen glowed at the thought of it. A warm feeling, maybe.....

Seeing Astro under Backey like that also made him feel… weird. It was hard to describe, but it felt like a wave of heat had gone through his body. He didn’t really know what it was. It wasn’t a bad feeling, it just was… weird. His screen brightened even more. Did Astro have this feeling too? Would it be weird to ask? N-no, it should be fine if he asked, it was just plain curiosity… it’s fine.  
“U-UH… IS IT JUST ME, OR DID THAT GIVE LIKE… SOME SORT OF FEELING THAT’S… HARD TO DESCRIBE… YOU FELT IT TOO, RIGHT?”

“Y-yeah, I did…”  
Astro nodded, curious that Backey knew that. He brushed some sand from his screen and tried to sit up, only to grunt in failure. Nope, not done being dizzy.

“Y-YEAH… HUH, WEIRD…  
Backey fidgeted with his hands in his lap. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it meant… yet he was curious.

Astro continued to lie down like he was in a therapist's office. He would move, but if felt like his head was a fishbowl, and if he moved too much, it'll spill over.  
“Ugh, I think I’m still imbalanced because of my larger frame. My body isn’t used to fast-paced movements like that…”

“THAT’S PROBABLY THE CASE… MY FRAME IS SMALLER THAN YOUR FRAME, SO MAYBE THAT’S WHY I FEEL FINE RIGHT NOW… I GUESS THAT’S ONE OF THE PERKS OF BEING THE SIZE I AM.”  
Backey looked over at Astro and stared at him. It was a bit weird to see him like this…  
“...AT LEAST THE SAND GAVE US A SOFT LANDING, RIGHT?”

“Y-yeah, that’s true…”  
Astro patted the sand. He did his best to ignore his strange feeling. It was developing, which was weird.  
He felt.... vulnerable. The thought of it made his screen flicker with luminescence.

Backey scooted back closer to Astro so that he was next to him, trying to ignore the weird feeling as well. He traced shapes into the sand with one of his fingers, feeling the urge to trace something.  
“...YOU KNOW, IT REALLY DOES AMAZE ME HOW WE WERE BUILT WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT FEELINGS AND STUFF. LIKE, A LOT OF IT REPLICATES HUMANS PRETTY WELL.”

“Y-you know human emotions? I-I mean, you have them… but you know… all of them?”  
Astro questioned, taking one of his sandy arms and rubbing the other.

“W-WELL, I WOULDN’T SAY I KNOW ALL OF THEM, BUT FROM WHAT I’VE OBSERVED, WE EXPERIENCE A LOT OF THE SAME EMOTIONS AND SENSATIONS. LIKE, CRYING, FOR ONE, IS SOMETHING WE CAN EXPERIENCE. AND WE CAN BE HAPPY, SAD, ANGRY, AND PROBABLY MANY OTHER EMOTIONS. AND WE CAN ALSO FALL IN L-LOVE… I JUST FIND IT INTERESTING THAT WE’RE CAPABLE OF IT.”  
Backey continued tracing things into the sand. It looked like he was drawing something.

Astro noticed it, but he didn't say anything about it, too deep in his own thoughts. Why... why would they give us feelings? Wouldn't it be kind of an inconvenience to... people?  
He didn't know why, but the feeling made him... feel weak. He ignored it, and lied-  
“Uh, yeah, I guess it’s cool…”

Backey nodded, unaware of Astro’s thoughts.  
“IT DOES KINDA MAKE ME WONDER WHY WE HAVE THEM… DOES IT JUST MAKE US MORE “HUMAN-LIKE”? I KNOW FOR HUMANS THEY FIND IT UNCANNY WHEN SOMETHING DOESN’T FEEL ANYTHING… OR AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT MY DATABASE TELLS ME, I GUESS. MAYBE IT GIVES THEM A SENSE OF FAMILIARITY? I’M NOT SURE…”  
Backey continued to draw. The drawing wasn’t really the best, but it looked like he was drawing himself and Astro in the sand. He looked at it for a moment, thinking it was missing something, before adding a heart above them. Ah, that’s it.

“W-what are you- Ugh-!”  
Astro tried to sit up and look at the sand art, but he got a massive head rush, so he lied back down slowly.  
The head rush reminded him of that one he had when he started to overheat. Before he dove too deep into it, he asked again-  
“W-what are you drawing?”

Backey’s screen brightened a little.  
“A-AH, UM, I WAS JUST DRAWING US. IT’S… NOT THE BEST, BUT IT’S N-NICE TO JUST DRAW, YOU KNOW? I THINK IT’S FUN…”

Astro thought for a moment-  
“I never had a hitch for drawing. I can get why, but… I don’t think I could ever draw…”  
He started to get fidgety. Ugh, why am I still feeling sick? It's a gross feeling...  
Stupid balances...

Backey took a moment to think to himself while he started to doodle something else.  
“HMM… I MEAN, I THINK YOU’RE CAPABLE. YOU JUST NEED PRACTICE IS ALL. GOTTA START SOMEWHERE, NO MATTER HOW SMALL. IN FACT, DON’T YOU DRAW LITTLE SWIRLS IN THE GROUND SOMETIMES? THAT COUNTS AS DRAWING.”

Astro turned his head to Backey-  
“Y-you think so? I mean… It’s not as complex as art should be, it-it’s more of a design.”

“SURE, IT MIGHT BE SIMPLE, BUT IT’S A DRAWING. IN FACT, THOSE SWIRLS ARE PRESENT EVERYWHERE IN DRAWING. LIKE IN THE ART PIECE ‘STARRY NIGHT’ WITH THOSE SWIRLS IN THE SKY. PLUS, DESIGNS AREN’T LESSER THAN TYPICAL ART, THEY CAN COMMUNICATE THINGS IN A CLEAR WAY… AT LEAST, THAT’S HOW I WOULD DESCRIBE IT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.”  
Backey doodled hearts into the sand absentmindedly as he talked.

“W-well, I mean, that art piece has more than just swirls, it’s all constructed into a specific design that correlates to the human eye as… well, a starry night. I-I don’t know…”  
Astro broke off, turning his head away. He wasn't an artist...  
He tried to get up again, and he used his strength to basically do a long crunch. He sat up, holding his head.

Backey looked back over to Astro as he sat up.  
“I MEAN YEAH, BUT STILL… I GUESS MY POINT IS THAT YOU CAN DRAW, NO MATTER SIMPLE IT MAY BE. JUST BECAUSE IT’S SIMPLE DOESN’T MEAN IT’S NOT A DRAWING. YOU CAN STICK WITH SMALL DOODLES, OR YOU CAN TRY AND DO DIFFERENT THINGS. I DON’T KNOW… I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW YOU CAN TRY THINGS, EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT THE BEST AT THEM AT FIRST.”

Astro let his hand fall to his side. He took in a deep breath, then chuckled-  
“Look who did their research..”  
He finally got a good look at Backey's drawing, which had grown messy from the wind. It was him and Backey standing in a rather stiff pose, but nonetheless, it was still neat. His gaze flicked to the heart at the top, and he blushed, light reflected off his metal legs.

Backey watched Astro as he looked at the drawing.  
“D-DO YOU LIKE IT?”

“H-Heheh, yeah, it’s… it’s us.”  
He looked up, knowing if he had eyes, they'd be glowing with affection.

“HEHEH, I’M GL-GLAD YOU DO.”  
Feeling the urge to be closer to Astro, Backey leaned on Astro's side. He looked around at the doodles around the portrait he did of them. They were mostly hearts, but there were a few other things drawn too. They were slightly messy because of the wind as well. ...Man, he drew a lot of hearts. More than he remembered drawing anyway.

Astro felt himself growing warm. He grew joyous as he leaned back on Backey. Hopefully, it wasn't too much for him.  
They stayed like that, just leaning against one another. Astro wanted to stay like this forever. Love.

Backey also warmed at Astro leaning against him. He took one of Astro’s hands in his. This was… really nice. He was glad they had gone out here… he hoped that they’d do more things like this in the future, just spending alone time together.

A silence fell over them, so Astro counted all the hearts. It took him a while because of the sheer number of them, but once he did, he mumbled-  
“28…”  
He didn't mean to say that aloud, but too late. Oh well.

“HMM?”  
Backey looked to Astro, then noticed he was looking at the hearts.  
“OH, WERE YOU COUNTING ALL THE HEARTS? HEHE, IT SEEMS LIKE I DREW A LOT OF THEM… SOME OF THEM I DON’T EVEN REMEMBER DRAWING, I THINK I JUST DID IT SUBCONSCIOUSLY…”

“I would say so…”  
Astro said, still slightly impressed by how many there were. he looked up at the sun, which had risen much higher now. Huh... they must have been out here for an hour or two. He checked his internal temperature. Oh, it's at 96... mmmaybe they should go...  
“Uhm, Backey, I-I bet the crew is waiting on us. Or is at least curious to where we are. I’m at 96… Wh-what are you at?”

“OH, UM, LET ME CHECK-”  
Backey used his free hand to take check his temperature. Ah, it’s at… 98.  
“I’M AT 98… WE PROBABLY SHOULD BE HEADING BACK NOW.”

Astro nodded, but he didn't move. He felt himself get a gnawing feeling in his chest. Heh, embarrassment. Guess he needs Backey if he ever sits down on the floor.

Backey reluctantly moved away and got up, before staring down at Astro.  
“...DO YOU NEED ME TO HELP YOU UP?”

“I-I mean, it’s in the schedule…”  
Astro jokes, looking at his side like a dog who just got in trouble. His screen grew quite bright.

Backey chuckled at this, before taking Astro’s hand and pulling him up.  
“I NOTICE A LOT OF THE TIME WHEN WE’RE SITTING DOWN TOGETHER, FOR SOME REASON YOU CAN’T MOVE ONCE YOU NEED TO GET UP… DO YOU HAVE A CLUE AS TO WHY?”

Astro nodded, groaning-  
“I-I think from my body structure that HQ created. It doesn’t seem balanced.”  
His body has its ups... but it also had some downs, too. He wouldn't say he hated his body, but he would enjoy having a more... realistic... body.  
From his smaller waist to his... rather absurd chest, he didn't really do the best on the balance beam.

“HM, YEAH, PROBABLY. YOU KNOW, IT’S KINDA WEIRD THAT HQ OVERLOOKED YOU NOT BEING ABLE TO GET UP FROM SITTING DOWN, YOU WOULD THINK THEY WOULD FIX THAT WHEN THEY WERE TESTING US OR WHATEVER…”  
How come they made sure he could get up, but Astro couldn’t? That… doesn’t make much sense.

Astro looked down to think about it. They did test us, didn't they? They had to, or they wouldn't have any idea of our capabilities. Or, they'd be unreliable. If they tested him, it means they went through the whole process of the human posture, weight differences, walk cycle, footwork, and rationing weight through each part of the body. Maybe they didn't do the last part. Well, if they didn't, they did on Backey. ...But why? Did HQ seriously skip over him like he wasn't worth that one test? He worked fine in everything else, but not balance. Not one of the most important human traits. Humans don't even have to monitor if they're standing right, for God’s sake! ...Maybe... Maybe they didn't care... Maybe they knew Astro would suffer from it. Maybe it was all part of a plan.

“I think… I think they didn’t… care…”  
He quietly mumbled, drawing out of his whirlpool of thoughts to find his finger tracing his body in the sand. It was accurate enough to know it was his body, at least.

“OH… ASTRO…”  
Backey saddened at hearing Astro say that. ...But, how was he supposed to say “no, that’s not true”? He didn’t know for certain… was it just an oversight? He didn’t know. He hated that he didn’t know.  
“I… I’M SORRY. MAYBE I SHOULDN’T HAVE BROUGHT THIS UP...  
Backey didn’t know what to say…

Astro didn't say anything, he just looked at his body.  
....He swiped away the sand like it was dust on a table.  
“I-it’s okay…”  
He brought his knees up to his chest and rested his arm on them. Soon, he placed his head in the pile as well. He stared at the sand, not knowing what to say or do.

Backey crouched back down, before hugging Astro.  
“I-IF IT HELPS ANY… KNOW THAT I LOVE AND CARE ABOUT YOU, AND I LOVE YOUR BODY AS IT IS… YOU’RE PERFECT IN MY EYES. PLEASE DON’T FORGET THAT.”

“I… I won’t forget your words… I-I just… don’t think I can forget mine…”  
He said this softly, still looking at the sand. He felt like if he looked at Backey, he'd start to cry. He already cried too much as it is, he didn't need to fuel that.

Backey’s screen was illuminated with mostly a dark blue tone, but there were traces of red in there as well. He was sad, but he also felt a bit bitter. Not against Astro, no, far from that. He was just a bit angry with HQ for apparently not caring enough to make sure that Astro could balance properly. It still confused him that they made sure he could, but not Astro. Astro… he deserved better.  
“I… I’M UNSURE OF WHAT HQ’S EXPLANATION WOULD BE FOR THIS. WHETHER THEY FORGOT SOMEHOW, OR IT WAS TOO LATE FOR THEM TO FIX YOUR ISSUE, I DON’T KNOW. I DON’T WANT TO THINK THEY DIDN’T CARE. BUT IF THEY DIDN’T… I DON’T KNOW. I JUST FEEL… BITTER NOW. AGAINST HQ. YOU DESERVE BETTER.”

Astro didn't speak anymore. Backey's words were reassuring, but at the same time, gave more grotesque questions and statements in his head. His screen had turned blue, a more ocean-like shade, to show that he was glum instead of distraught or upset.  
Maybe HQ knew about his opinion on himself. Maybe they knew.

Backey grew quiet, and silence fell over them for a minute. Backey just sat there and held Astro in his embrace, hoping it helped at least a little. After a bit, Backey spoke again.  
“JUST… KNOW THAT I’M HERE TO HELP YOU ASTRO. IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS, YOU CAN TALK TO ME ABOUT THEM. EMOTIONAL OR OTHERWISE. I LOVE YOU, AND I WANT YOU TO FEEL HAPPY.”

“Backey…”  
Astro looked up-  
“I don’t want to weigh you down with my problems, because you being happy is my happiness. Seeing you sad, well, that’ll just bring me down with you. Me being sad? I… It’s a loophole. That I can’t fix. I can’t change, Backey. Trust me, I want to, I want to change from this, but it’s something out of my control. I’m sorry… it’s not that I don’t trust you… I just can’t talk to you… I’m… sorry…”  
He expressed himself with his hands, pointing to himself, pointing to Backey, pointing to nothing. He was drained.

Backey frowned a little at this. He wanted to argue that he could handle listening to Astro, but would there really be any point? He sighed.  
“IT’S… IT’S OK ASTRO, YOU DON’T NEED TO APOLOGIZE. I… UNDERSTAND HOW YOU FEEL, BUT PLEASE, IF YOU FEEL SAD, IF YOU CAN’T TALK ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS, AT LEAST LET ME COMFORT YOU. YOU WOULDN’T NEED TO SAY ANYTHING, I WOULD JUST TRY AND MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER. I COULD DISTRACT YOU FROM YOUR THOUGHTS, OR DO ALMOST ANYTHING FOR YOU TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER.”

“...D-Did I hurt you?”  
He whimpered, his voice cracking dramatically. He was in a mode where it plucked all the good thoughts away and only listened to the bad ones.

“N-NO, ASTRO, YOU DIDN’T. YOU DIDN’T. I’M FINE.”  
Backey tried to make his expression soften. He didn’t want Astro to think he was upset with him.

Astro had a doubtful look in his screen, but he just nodded his head and look down to play with the sand. His blue screen had grown in intensity.

Backey noticed Astro’s screen blue had intensified, and it saddened him more. He… wasn’t helping, was he? He wished he knew how to help. He'd do almost anything to make his boyfriend happy if he knew what would work.  
“...I LOVE YOU, ASTRO.”  
Was all he could say. He almost felt like crying, but he didn’t want Astro to feel more upset because of him. He just tried to calm himself by gripping Astro a bit tighter than before. He hoped it wasn't too noticeable.

Astro looked down to Backey quickly. It felt like a metal rod was just pierced through his chest. He held back his barking emotions as he croaked-  
“I… I love you too, Backey.”  
Ugh, everything hurts.

Backey went silent again, trying his best to stay calm. But it was hard. It was hard to contain his emotions. He could feel himself heating up from being upset, adding onto his already warm temperature from the sun now being high in the sky. It reminded him of why they were even going to get up in the first place, which sparked this conversation. He didn’t want to go back to the shuttle right now, he didn’t want the crew to see him and Astro like this, but he knew they couldn’t stay out here… Maybe they can just… cuddle when they get back. That might help…  
“D-DO… DO YOU JUST WANT TO CUDDLE IN THE THE LOWER AREA OF THE SHUTTLE WHEN WE GET BACK? I… DON’T REALLY WANT TO GO BACK RIGHT N-NOW, BUT I’M GETTING HOT…”

Astro looked at him. His face was.... he wasn't there. He stared semi-blankly at Backey, trying to throw up a response. He didn't want to leave. He didn't want to stay. He didn't want to move. ...He didn't want to live. But... Backey would never forget, and Astro would never forgive himself.  
He couldn't speak. He just stared at Backey.

“A-ASTRO?”  
Backey’s voice cracked a bit, staring back at Astro. It was… really getting hard to control his sadness at this point. He was close to tears, trembling, trying really hard not to cry for Astro’s sake, even though Astro’s probably already noticed he’s upset. He cursed himself. Why must he be so emotional?!

Astro nodded as if to signal Backey to continue. His grip grew tighter around Backey.

“I-I… I’M SO S-SORRY--”  
He could barely contain a sob as he started to cry, the floodgates opening for him.  
“I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY, I DON’T WANT TO BE UPSET, I H-HATE THAT I’M UPSET, I-I D-DON’T WANT TO CRY--”  
Backey gripped Astro as he shook, sobbing into his chest now. Why does he have to be like this goddamnit, Astro doesn’t want him to be upset, he’s just making things worse. He doesn’t want Astro to feel worse, but he screwed it up by letting his stupid emotions get in the way! Nice going, you idiot!

Astro leaned into Backey, horrifyingly calm. He rubbed Backey's back with affection, and he silently shushed him. There was love in his voice, but it sounded like it was... muffled. Like it was covered up by something else. Or it was covering something.  
He rested his head on Backey's shoulder, really enveloping him in an embrace.

This helped a little, but not by much. Backey was a bit too upset to notice how eerily calm Astro was. He continued to sob, barely able to speak.  
“I-I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY- *sobs* I’M NOT THE ONE THAT SHOULD BE COMFORTED, IT SHOULD B-BE THE OTHER WAY AROUND! I’M SO S-STUPID…”  
Backey was the type to put others above himself, even when he was feeling terrible. Even if it meant holding back emotions, however painful that might be. He knew that wasn’t healthy though. But unless he was convinced not to, he’d continue to bottle up his feelings... until they explode in his face.

“No, Backey, you’re not. I am. I got us into this. I’m sorry. You’re not weak. I am, and I know that.”  
He rubbed his back whilst saying this. The tone if his voice was firm, like every word that came out of his speakers was a fact. It was so.... sure of itself.

That was the exact opposite of what Backey wanted to hear. He didn’t want Astro to blame himself damn it! It’s his own fault he got so emotional! Not his!  
“N-NO… YOU’RE NOT… THAT’S NOT TRUE! *sob* YOU DON’T NEED TO APOLOGIZE…!”  
Backey did his best to stifle his sobs, but they only seemed to intensify. Goddamnit…!

Astro glanced down to Backey. It wasn't a mean look, but it was a look that wasn't... sympathetic. It was saying, "No, you're wrong. I am right, and you need to know that. I need to apologize, for everything." ....But Astro just sighed, and he continued to hug him. He didn't know how else to help.

Backey continued to cry, seemingly in a continuous loop of sobbing and being angry with himself for doing so, making him sob more. It was a nasty cycle.  
“NOT WEAK… NOT WEAK, YOU’RE NOT WEAK, A-ASTRO! I-I DON’T WANT YOU DENY THAT, I DON’T WANT YOU SAY YOU CAN’T CHANGE, I KNOW YOU CAN GET BETTER! YOU JUST NEED HELP… AND I NEED HELP… W-WE ALL NEED HELP…”

That seemed to snap Astro out of his fog. He suddenly snapped-  
“Backey, just because of this doesn’t mean you’re sick!”  
He paused, then continued-  
“If I’m not weak… then why can’t I pull myself together? If I’m not weak… why would you even tell me in the first place that I wasn’t? Why can’t I just SHUT UP?!”  
He had thrown his hands in the air. He looked down, a hostile look on his face. His screen was a merge of blue and red.  
He started to calm down, slowly lowering his arms back to his sides. They weren't on Backey anymore. His screen slowly faded back to a dark blue. He whispered almost inaudibly-  
“I-I’m sorry…”

Backey trembled, arms now wrapped around himself, seeking comfort. His sobs seemed to calm down a bit, just from being thrown out of it from the shock of Astro’s sudden outburst. He was still crying though.  
“I-IT’S… OK…”  
He tightened his grip on his arms.  
“...WOULD A WEAK PERSON ADMIT THEY’RE WEAK? WOULD THEY SAY SO TO OTHERS? WOULD THEY ADMIT THEIR F-FAULTS, WOULD THEY ACCEPT HELP, WOULD THEY WANT TO GET BETTER?”  
Backey sniffled, before looking into Astro’s screen.  
“WOULD THEY, ASTRO?”

Astro was about to respond, but it caught in his chest. He stared down at Backey, not saying anything. He looked like he'd been slapped in the face.  
He tried to say something, but he was involuntarily keeping himself mute. He looked down, not sure what to do. He didn't want to agree nor disagree.  
He looked like he wanted to cry, but... he just stayed silent.

Backey waited for Astro’s reply and sighed when he stayed silent.  
“TH-THEY WOULDN’T, ASTRO. THEY WOULDN’T. YOU’RE NOT WEAK. YOU JUST NEED HELP. EVEN THE STRONGEST WILLED PEOPLE NEED HELP.”  
Backey crawled back over to Astro and hugged him again. He was still shaky, still recovering from crying, but he just wanted to help.

He wasn't gonna deny that he needs help. He's been like this... for as long as he can remember. He doesn't remember a time where he wasn't like this...  
But why?  
Astro knew if he kept this up, he'd burst into tears in a matter of minutes. He mumbled-  
“Maybe we should go back to the shuttle… Emmet should be wondering where we’re at.”  
He was about to correct himself to "Should be wondering where you're at", but he stayed quiet. He just wanted Backey to stop worrying about him.

“W-WE… WE SHOULD. BUT, THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE’RE COMPLETELY ABANDONING THIS SUBJECT. LEAVING YOUR FEELINGS TO FESTER WON’T HELP. ONCE YOU’RE COMFORTABLE WITH IT, WE’RE GONNA TRY AND FIND THE ROOT OF YOUR SADNESS AND TRY HELP YOU WITH IT. I… JUST WANT TO HELP, ASTRO. I LOVE YOU.”  
Backey tightened his grip around Astro for a second, wanting to comfort him in some way. Although, he knew that physical comfort was only part of what Astro needed. He needed something else… he just didn’t know what.

“And you just think I’ll be comfortable with it? What are we gonna do? Wait here until I’m better? We have a job to do, Backey.”  
His tone wasn't the sweetest. He looked like he was searching for a certain answer from Backey, that even he knew would never come. He didn't hear the rest after that, but if he did, he would have cried. Right there in Backey's loving arms.

“I… I’M SORRY.”  
Backey tried his best not to appear hurt by Astro’s words, but he couldn’t deny they stung a little. He let go of Astro.  
“...I JUST WANT TO HELP.”  
He repeated. He got up silently and reached out his hand for Astro to take, knowing he needed it.

Astro flinched. Oh no.  
A soft sob escaped his mouth, and he sniffled. He knew what he had done.  
“I-I’m so sorry-! I don’t kn-kn-know what’s hap-pened to me-”  
He tightly hugged Backey, the tightest he ever has before.  
He didn't sob, but he knew tears would be pouring off his face. But no one could know that. Backey, Captain Ellis, Tom, Baby, A-.... no. Not April.

Backey hadn’t really expected Astro to pull him back down into a hug. He didn’t expect it to be so tight. But… he welcomed it.  
“I-IT’S OK ASTRO, YOU’RE FINE. I SHOULDN’T HAVE ASSUMED THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT…”  
He hugged Astro back tightly as well.  
“...I JUST HOPE THAT YOU WILL EVENTUALLY.”  
Backey's words had a sad tinge to them, but he was too tired to cry anymore.

This made Astro cry harder. He wanted to. He wanted to so badly. He just wanted to come clean. But, he didn't know how, why, when, what... He knew nothing. He wanted to, but it was like something was stopping him. Like a dog on a collar. Every time he tried to reach out for something, someone, anything... he'd be pulled back and punished.  
He too choked up to reply, so he just squeezed Backey tighter. It might be painful, but Astro needed this. He needed a hug.

Backey winced a bit, but he held onto Astro. He knew Astro would need this. And to be honest, he needed a hug too. He gripped onto Astro lovingly. He decided to say something again, as if it wasn’t heard the first time.  
“I LOVE YOU, ASTRO. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH…”

“I-I love you too, a-and I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry…”  
Astro grip had loosened, so his arms slightly dropped. Then, he let go.... and leaned forward to give a kiss to Backey. The bluish-shock between them gave Astro a sense of.... joy. But, it soon faded, replaced by even more regret and sadness. His screen was indigo, which meant he was depressed. But that one word had so much meaning.

Backey blushed, and kissed him back. He wished that the feeling he got when he kissed Astro lasted forever, it just felt so nice… but he knew it couldn’t. He pulled away after a bit, staring into Astro’s eyes. His indigo screen concerned him. He wished he knew how to help… hopefully his actions were enough for the time being.  
“ARE YOU READY TO GO BACK NOW? OR DO YOU NEED MORE TIME?”  
He asked softly.

Astro shook his head-  
“No… I’m… I’m ready.”  
Which was a complete and utter lie. He didn't want to go back. But, it'd be pointless to argue.

“OK… BUT IF YOU NEED, WE CAN JUST ASK IF WE CAN STAY IN THE LOWER PART OF THE SHUTTLE. CAPTAIN ELLIS WILL PROBABLY UNDERSTAND.”  
Backey took Astro’s hand and squeezed it in assurance.

“I bet he would…”  
Astro nodded. He didn't want to say what he wanted to do when they got back, but he had to find a way to do it one way or another.

“MHM…”  
Backey gave Astro one last small kiss to his screen, before pulling away and getting up to stand. Again. He held out his hand for Astro to take.  
“WELL, WE’D BEST GET GOING THEN…”

Astro took Backey's hand, getting to know this new part of his routine by heart.  
“Yeah, I probably have a couple of things to do…”  
He stretched out his dark blue padding, watching it warp outward a bit. He sighed and looked up to where the sun was. It would be 12:40 back on Earth, so maybe the crew will eat today, who knows.

Once Backey had let go of Astro’s hand, he stretched a bit. Feeling a bit hot what from getting emotional and the hot weather, he also turned on his internal fans. He turned to Astro.  
“...WANNA HOLD HANDS ON THE WAY BACK TO THE SHUTTLE?”

Astro looked over to Backey, confused by the question for a moment. But, he softly chuckled, a faint heart appearing on his screen. Because of the indigo, it was a navy blue color. It was nice that the colors fit together…  
“...Always.”  
He tenderly grasped Backey's hand, feeling the warmness, which warmed his cold hands.

Backey’s screen seemed to imitate Astro’s, a heart flashing on his as well. His screen was still a bit of a darker blue, but after a while, it would probably fade back to its pale blue color. Hot and cold seemed to go well together, he thought to himself as he held Astro’s cold hand.  
“HEHE… NOW TO START WALKING THEN I GUESS.”  
Backey started to lead Astro back towards the shuttle.

Astro and Backey walked silently back to the shuttle. It being quite a couple of yards away, they'd have to walk a distance. Astro looked on, seeing all the faded yellows of this planet. It was almost abnormal, how dull this place was. Curious, Astro scanned the outer area's atmosphere. It checked in, and Astro spaced out, glancing at the data in his files. It was fun to go in your head and become a literal computer.  
Looking at it, he saw traces of many particles. Hm, there were a few toxic things here and there, but, faintly, there were also oxygen elements in the air as well. Very interesting.

Backey also seemed to go into his own little world of thoughts as they continued to walk to the shuttle. Although, he wasn’t scanning the atmosphere or anything. He was more so reviewing over their experience out on the planet’s surface. It seemed like there were a few nice parts about their walk out here, but otherwise, there were… not so good parts of it. He didn’t really want either Astro or himself to get upset out here, but he guessed he couldn’t have predicted it. He just hoped that Astro would feel better soon…

Closer. Astro looked at the shuttle. He started to remember them landing on this planet. The faulty steering, sirens going off, almost hitting a sand dune, somehow landing semi-safely. He remembered looking at everyone in their dazed state. Emmet was still at the controls, gripping on them for dear life. Baby was in a corner, probably trying to hang onto it whilst the nightmare behind him happened. Tom had locked his fingers into his chair like a frightened cat, his one visible eye wide and alert. Astro almost snorted aloud thinking about it. Solid Snake over there isn't as tough as he boasts to be.  
...Oh yeah... April. ...April seemed to be the calmest. She was up, trying to comfort Baby once they had landed. She sounded the sweetest she ever had before. Emmet readjusted his glasses and asked if everyone was okay. They all said a different response, and Astro remembered himself chiming in. He remembered Backey in that state. He wasn't as used to using his artificial body as well as Astro was, so when he came out to clean everything, he almost fell a couple of times. Astro remembers taking over from there, putting a soup can back on its shelf.  
That was probably the first time he got a good look at Backey. He was so nervous, not really talking much, or looking at anybody. He was just... kinda like a maid, asking if everyone was good, and cleaning occasionally. No wonder the place was almost spotless. Backey probably had nothing else to do.  
But, seeing that... made Astro wonder. Did he think he was going to be with Backey at that moment? Was it then that he grew attached to his robotic friend, even when he didn't know he actually had emotions? It was.... a mystery. Suddenly, Astro's memories fogged up. He tried to think of the thing after that, but he couldn’t select the file. It just said error.

Backey’s mind wandered back to the tower they visited. He repressed a shudder when he thought about it. The aura around that thing was… off, but he didn’t know why. Maybe it was just a quirk of the planet? Who knows. All he knew was that it didn’t make either him or Astro feel well. It was weird… Maybe that thing was cursed.

Even closer. Astro kept tapping on the file. Nothing. 404, 404, 404, 404. File not found...? How can it not be found? He felt frustrated. He tried looking back to an earlier memory. When they were on the station. Clean, fresh, new bodies of theirs. He tried to click on the first one saved. Error. He mentally grumbled, clicking on the next one. Error. Another. Error. This was annoying. He clicked a couple more. No luck. Why won't this work? It's just his old stored memories. Hopefully they weren't gone forever.... were they? Astro started to get worried. Memories are one of the only things he can hold on to at the moment.... and if they all leave... Astro doesn't know what he'd do.  
Suddenly, a memory played. Astro was confused, but then he saw that his cursor slipped, clicking on one named "Clumsy" ...What?  
He was looking at himself. He watched Astro.... hm, that felt weird, anyway, he watched Astro step up to the soup ledge. He knew he didn't want to eat the soup, and no one was hungry, so he must be just looking at it. He scanned over it, looking at all the labels and codes. "Made by the government-funded space program, The Astrocitizens!"  
Suddenly, Backey was at his side, looking like he wanted to say something. He fidgeted with his thumbs, growing into a more energized state. Backey couldn't take it any longer and tapped Astro on the shoulder. Astro flinched, making the soup can fly in the air, and land in between the two AI. Backey flinched, "O-Oh, sorry Astro!" he stammered, his voice all tight with nervousness. Astro shook his head and spoke, but the words became obscure. The memory cut to him picking up the soup can and accidentally bumping into Backey, who was trying to get the can as well. Astro jerked up quickly and held his head, mumbling something. ...Why were the words becoming so muffled? Backey shook his head and spat out a sentence. Then, all of a sudden, like a microphone turned on, he said, "Ack, I shouldn't be so damn clumsy!" Astro felt the defensive emotions rise up in his chest, and he talked to Backey about something, "-you aren't clumsy, just need to work on that body coordination."  
Backey seemed to smile, or he looked like he would. And that's when the memories ended. That was the first time he saw Backey smile.

Backey’s mind continued to drift off into space, as if he wasn’t there. He hadn’t ever seen Astro snap like that to him when he was going on about himself being weak. The hostile look honestly scared him a bit, it was nothing like Astro’s fake menacing look. He just had to wonder where all these feelings came from. He didn’t remember Astro being as negative as he has been before landing on the planet. It was like it came out of nowhere… Had he just repressed all these thoughts before? He didn’t know… he wished he knew.

Almost there. Astro stared at his files. He remembers. It was so..... obscure. Why, out of everything, would he remember that? It made no sense! He didn't bother to click anymore, he just went through his files, checking if everything was in order. Nothing out of the ordinary. Astro pondered what to do. He looked at his statuses. Everything seemed normal. Ugh.

It seemed like Astro had a different perception of himself than Backey did. It made Backey wonder more about it. Why would HQ even allow Astro to think these things? Were they programmed into him? If so, that seemed very counter-productive, and didn’t make sense… A robot having all these negative thoughts… Making a robot… depressed… didn’t make sense. So, if it wasn’t programmed into him, where did it come from?

So close. Astro wanted a mirror. He wanted to look at himself. He wanted to see what state he was in. He did feel.... happy... when the memories played, but when they left, guilt came knocking at his door. Why? Because. Because he was overemotional. These memories.... they bring him warmth. Joy, even. But, that's in the past. The past.... Astro looked up, snapping back into reality. The past is gone. This is the future. Astro wanted to scream, and all the emotions rushed to his brain. His screen probably grew blue again, but Astro couldn't tell. He didn't care. He held himself together at the seams. He glanced up. Almost there.

Backey squeezed Astro’s hand absentmindedly, as if to concentrate. He didn’t really notice the state Astro was in, having delved too deep into his thoughts. Where did it come from? Did Astro develop it on his own? Did it come from the planet somehow? He had a feeling he was on the right track to something, but couldn’t really put his finger on it. It felt like it was on the tip of his figurative tongue.

They arrived. Astro looked up and the shuttle. He looked down to Backey, but then looked away. No. Don't speak. He gingerly let go of Backey's hand and knocked on the airlock. He waited, then, Emmet arrived at the door. He spoke, "Took you awhile huh?"  
Astro nodded and stepped in, walking away from Backey. He didn't want to be here. No, not at all.

Backey seemed to snap out of it once Astro let go of his hand, losing his train of thought. He made a note to continue thinking about that thought later. It seemed important… He looked up to Emmet, then over to Astro who was oddly silent as he walked away from him. Huh…  
“AH, YES, SORRY CAPTAIN…”  
Backey mumbled, acknowledging Emmet, but wasn't really focused on him. He followed Astro.

"No problem, Backey." Emmet closed the airlock. Astro looked at the familiar surroundings. Hello, chairs. Hello, soup. Hello.... home. Astro sighed, holding back a groan. He looked over to the crew. Tom was eating, what a surprise. Baby seemed to have already finished, looking at the open soup can curiously. "Where’ve you been?" Tom's rough voice made Astro jump. He mumbled-  
“Oh, out and about, exploring the towers..”  
Tom paused, then huffed- "Well, you don't seem too interested in it.” Clearly, that's where the conversation ended.

Backey walked up until he was next to Astro. He was… a bit concerned for him. His voice sounded a bit... weak. He looked over to Tom to address him.  
“IT WAS… INTERESTING… OUT THERE. I’D ADVISE YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM THOSE TOWERS THOUGH. THEY HAVE SOME SORT OF WEIRD ENERGY SURROUNDING THEM… IT DOESN’T SEEM NICE.”

"Weird energy?" This caught Emmet's attention. What to expect from an ex-chemistry teacher.  
“Oh, yeah. It’s… unsettling, like Backey said. I would advise you to check it out, Captain.”  
Emmet nodded. "Noted." He whipped back to his seat and got busy on something. Astro felt tired. He felt sore. He felt dead. As if to remind him, voices whispered in his head. There were too many voices, but at the same time, they were so clear. So menacing. So... evil. Astro called out to Emmet-  
“Hey, Ca-”  
His voice cracked, and he tried again to conceal his emotions.  
“Hey, Captain, I’m going to go and do a supply check in the lower part of the shuttle. Don’t want to be missing anything…”  
"Sure Astro. Go and do that." Emmet was clearly too busy to notice, which made Astro feel... worthless.  
“Uhm, I must apologize if I fall asleep in there, I might need to charge up my power.”  
Astro walked over to the door, opening it. He was walking in when Emmet suddenly stammered- "Wait, isn't your char-" But the door already closed. "...isn't your charging station right there?" Emmet asked, slumping in his seat.

A… supply check? Yeah, Backey didn’t think so. Astro just wanted an excuse to go in there, presumably to collect himself. The crew may not have noticed, but he noticed that voice crack. He noticed that Astro seemed… no, was, upset. More upset than before. He looked to Emmet to answer him.  
“...WE CAN ALSO CHARGE OURSELVES A BIT BY JUST SLEEPING WITHOUT BEING ON OUR CHARGING STATIONS. IT’S NOT VERY EFFICIENT THOUGH. BARELY GIVES US ENOUGH ENERGY TO GET THROUGH THE DAY…”  
He paused, looking back to the door.  
“BUT IF YOU’LL EXCUSE ME, CAPTAIN, I’M GOING TO GO ASSIST ASTRO…”

Emmet could easily tell something was up. Or they were madly in love, who knows. "Yeeaaahhhh, alright. Go ahead." He went back nose first into his work.

Backey nodded, before walking up to the door. ...He probably wasn’t going to like what he sees beyond this door. Astro will probably be really upset. But Astro needs someone. He opened the door, before closing it behind himself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rating, as you may have noticed, has been changed! This is due to some suggestive, kinda nsfw content being in this chapter... so if you want to skip over that part once you come to it, you can.
> 
> Who's playing who in this chapter:  
> Astro - Dyno  
> Backey - Me
> 
> Oh, btw, here's a height chart I made of the crew + Astro and Backey if you're interested:  
> https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/561681305436160011/572061485899972621/height_chart.png?width=982&height=559

_Astro was in the corner. He was curled up into a ball, facing the opposite wall, where the supply was. His head was in his hands. He was weeping softly. It was still aggressive, though, like he was in a wave of water, and he was trying to gasp for air. He choked, coughing a bit. He didn't notice Backey open the door._

 

_Backey’s heart sank at the sight._

“A-ASTRO…?”

_He approached, walking up to him until he was only a couple of feet from him, concern flooding his gaze._

 

“*Chokes* D-d-don’t l-look at me…”

_He turned away from Backey, toward from the wall. He scrunched up, his back arching into a rather uncomfortable pose._

 

“WH-WHY WOULD I NOT LOOK AT YOU? WH-WHAT’S WRONG?”

_Backey got closer to Astro, only a foot away now. He sat down, getting onto Astro’s level._

 

_Astro just cried harder, letting out a wave of sobs. He was trying to curl up into nothing, but he was only doing a good job turning into a ball. He knew his hands would be damp if he was human. This was the hardest he's ever cried before._

 

_Backey closed the distance between them, crawling up to Astro before putting a hand on his shoulder. He couldn’t really hug him in the position Astro was in. Otherwise, he would've done so._

“A-ASTRO, PLEASE TELL ME WHAT’S WRONG.”

 

“I-I-I *sobs* I-I’m s-so… I-I c-ca *sobs* I can’t-!”

_He tried to speak, but the sobs drowned it out._

 

_It seems like they won’t be getting anywhere without Astro calming down a bit first._

“I-IT’S OK, YOU DON’T HAVE TO TELL ME RIGHT AWAY. YOU CAN GET YOUR BEARINGS FIRST, OK?”

_Backey paused for a second, before adding,_

“...DO YOU NEED A HUG?”

 

_There was no telling if he was crying harder, but another wave came over him and he nodded vigorously, losing all of his professionalism._

 

_Backey thought that would be the case, but he just wanted to be sure that’s what Astro wanted. Backey did his best to envelope Astro in a tight hug, rubbing circles into his back to comfort him._

“I’M HERE FOR YOU ASTRO. I’M RIGHT HERE.”

 

“Wh-Why *sob* d-do I-I-I *sobs* ...I c-can’t s-s-stop, Backey! W-What… *sobs* W-why d-do I ha-have to b-be so stupid! *sobs*”

_He was having a complete meltdown. The stress of the day just got the best of him, but it was worse than Astro expected._

 

_Astro must have been holding all this in… it was probably best to get it out now. Holding in your emotions wasn’t healthy, it hurt. Backey knew from experience._

“I-IT’S ALRIGHT, ASTRO. YOU’RE NOT STUPID, OK? YOU JUST… REALLY NEED TO LET OUT YOUR EMOTIONS. WHEN YOU BOTTLE IT UP, IT HURTS YOU… CRYING HELPS RELEASE IT. JUST TAKE YOUR TIME, AND REMEMBER TO BREATHE,” _he said softly._

 

_Astro felt all of the voices in his head arguing with one another. He was conflicted in so many different ways. He wished he could keep his mouth shut, but he spoke anyway-_

“I-I can’t breathe, Backey! I-I can’t breathe b-b-because I’m such a-a loser! C-Can’t you see that? Why d-do you love me?! Why do you love a mess l-like me?!”

_He regretted the last part. Badly. But he couldn't correct himself. The voices grew stronger, and his sobbing swallowed his voice._

 

“ASTRO… YOU’RE NOT A LOSER.”

_It hurt to see Astro like this. He couldn’t stand to hear Astro belittle himself._

“...IT’S A BIT HARD FOR ME TO EXPLAIN HOW I FEEL, OR WHY I LOVE SOMETHING. BUT I CAN AT LEAST TELL YOU SOME OF THE REASONS WHY. I LOVE YOU BECAUSE YOU MAKE ME HAPPY. I LOVE YOU BECAUSE YOU MAKE ME FEEL IMPORTANT. BECAUSE I ADMIRE YOU. BECAUSE YOU MEAN THE WHOLE WORLD TO ME. YOU’RE SMART, YOU’RE FUNNY, YOU’RE HANDSOME… A LOT OF THINGS REALLY. I WISH I WAS BETTER AT DESCRIBING IT, BUT THERE’S REALLY SO MANY MORE REASONS. YOU’RE NOT A MESS, ASTRO. I LOVE YOU DEARLY, PLEASE DON’T PUT YOURSELF DOWN LIKE THAT… AND I’LL GO ON TO MORE REASONS IF YOU NEED ME TO.”

 

_Astro calmed down when Backey said this. His sobs grew quieter, and he stared at Backey, flattered. For some reason, when Backey listed off "handsome", his screen immediately grew bright. He never thought of himself as... handsome. He looked away, flustered and embarrassed. At least he had a chance to get his mind off of his sadness._

_The voices were like him. Baffled. Confused. He wanted to push them away for this moment, but they wouldn't leave. Heh, what if I gave them personalities? Astro thought weakly._

 

_Backey decided to go on with his list of reasons when Astro didn’t respond. He took the brightening of Astro’s screen as a good sign._

“...REALLY, I’VE JUST LEARNED TO APPRECIATE THE LITTLE THINGS. I LOVE WATCHING ALL YOUR LITTLE HABITS, LIKE WHEN YOU DRAW SPIRALS IN THE DUST ON THE FLOOR. I LOVE WATCHING YOUR SCREEN GLOW BRIGHTLY. I LOVE YOUR LAUGH. I LOVE SEEING YOUR ‘SMILE’. I LOVE THE FEELING OF YOUR TOUCH… AND WHEN WE KISS, IT JUST FEELS… SO NICE. IT MAKES ME WISH IT WOULD LAST FOREVER…”

_Backey’s screen seemed to brighten a bit. It… was a little embarrassing to say some of those last things out loud, but it’s how he felt. And he had a feeling that it would help Astro._

 

_Astro paused. The A.C. turned off, so the room went silent. It was like the whole world was waiting for it._

“B-Backey… I can’t believe you’d s-say th-that… a-about me..”

“ _I…_ can’t say anything about m-me like that...”

_He started to cry again-_

“I-I can’t tell y-you how m-much I hate my-myself right now, a-and you saying that is… it ma-makes it h-hit harder, but… I-It can’t re-replace the… I… I-I…”

_God damn it, speak-_

“I-I’m sorry… *sob*”

 

_Backey’s screen dimmed back down. Ah. That… didn’t help. Or at least, from his perspective, it didn’t._

“YOU’RE FINE ASTRO, YOU’RE FINE… YOU DON’T NEED TO APOLOGIZE…”

_Backey looked to Astro’s screen. It seemed… conflicted. He could tell there was an overwhelming sadness smothering it, but there was something underneath that sadness. He couldn't tell what._

“...DO YOU NEED ME TO STOP TALKING? I… DON’T WANT MY WORDS TO HURT YOU…”

 

_Astro whipped his head up to look at Backey. He almost looked horrified. His screen grew a brighter blue as his voices grew louder. They were screaming. Screaming at Astro._

 

**“Ha, You’re scaring him!”**

**“Why don’t you just shut this mother-f*cker up? He’s not doing you any favors!”**

**“Yeah, just let him die!”**

**“Oh, would you be too much of a wuss to deal with that shit? Well, whoopty-f+cking-doo, look who the man is here!”**

**“Just go and die. You’re too low for him. Even though he’s an ass.”**

**“Just like you, you fat-ass.”**

**“You can’t even hold back your tears, bastard. How the hell did HQ make you functional? You’re as stupid as a f*cking fish!”**

**“You should kill yourself. Give this guy some freedom, you’re already poisoning his innocence!”**

**“You f*cker!”**

**“Just stop!”**

**“Die!”**

**“DIE!”**

**“DIE!!!”**

_They did that all the time. Every minute. Every second. Every millisecond._

“P-please don’t…”

 

“O-OH… OK…”

_That look of horror… just what was going on inside Astro’s head that the thought of Backey not talking was horrifying?_

_He wasn’t sure what to say…_

“WELL, IF YOU CAN’T LISTEN TO ME SAYING ALL OF THOSE REASONS THAT I LOVE YOU, WH-WHAT CAN I SAY? CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT’S WRONG NOW? CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT I CAN DO TO HELP?”

_He really wanted to help Astro, he did. He just needed Astro to give him something to work with. If he's not given anything to say, he's powerless against whatever is happening in Astro's mind._

 

_Astro's voice cracked-_

“I-I can’t t-tell you to do anything, Backey. I-I can’t… I-I can’t even think… m-my database is j-just… I-I can’t… *sobs*”

_He shoved his head in his hands and scrunched up again. They hurt his head._

“I-I would tell you what they keep s-saying, th-the voices… B-but, they’re s-so fast! I-I can’t- *sobs*”

 

“TH-THE VOICES? ONES THAT AREN’T YOUR OWN?”

_This concerned Backey greatly. W-what things were those “voices” saying that made Astro so upset? Where did they come from?_

 

_Astro nodded, rubbing his head._

“Th-they say… horrible things. I-I’ve had them for so long, b-but… they’ve never been this bad. I-I just want them to shut up, but… I-it’s just me. I-I can’t, I-I don’t know how!”

 

_It was a bit difficult for Backey to really comprehend what Astro was saying. So… the voices are separate from Astro himself, but they're also just him?? Maybe if he understood a bit more about these voices, he'd be able to help…_

“W-WELL, I _MIGHT_ BE ABLE TO HELP, BUT I THINK I NEED A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THOSE VOICES ARE LIKE TO H-HELP YOU COMBAT THEM…”

 

“U-Understand them? I… I don’t know h-how else yo-you can understand them.”

_He sniffled-_

“Wh-what do you need to know?”

_He looked like he was calming down a bit, not crying as hard as he was now. But his screen was still dark blue._

 

“WELL UM… I GUESS JUST AN EXPLANATION OR DESCRIPTION OF THEM WOULD SUFFICE. WHAT QUIETS THEM DOWN VERSUS WHAT MAKES THEM LOUDER WOULD PROBABLY BE GOOD TO KNOW AS WELL…”

_Backey was glad that Astro seemed to be calming down, but he had a feeling they weren’t quite out of the ballpark yet._

 

_Astro's screen grew blue again like he was remembering something. He looked up with a sort of sorrowful look on his screen._

“Th-they never seem to quiet down. I-I mean, when I get my mind on something, I can’t hear them, b-but when I-I’m alone...... a-and with you… they never seem to leave.”

“They all have different voices too. One is deep and menacing, which is the one that talks to me the most. I hate him so much. Then the others… they… they are so _annoying._ I-I just want to rip my head apart!”

_He paused with his hands beside his head like he wanted to actually break it, but he put them down and mumbled-_

“B-but, that’s just a summary of it…”

 

“HM… ALRIGHT…

_Backey mulled over this information, thinking._

“SO, THEY NEVER GO AWAY, BUT YOU CAN DISTRACT YOURSELF FROM THEM? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’VE NOTICED THAT USUALLY DOES MAKE IT SO YOU DON’T HEAR THEM?”

_If he had an angle to go at, he might make some progress at helping Astro with these voices… He wished he could get rid of them for Astro, from what he described and how upset they made him, they seem awful…_

 

“R-really just getting involved in work. Like, whenever I write a report, I-I guess that me being almost… disabled from the ability to not move from my work until I finish it. B-but… they’ve never been this bad…”

_Astro shrugged, feeling the longing to actually go to work._

 

“WELL, I GUESS THAT ONCE YOU’VE CALMED DOWN A BIT MORE, YOU COULD GET TO WORK IF IT HELPS YOU… BUT IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? LIKE, HAVE YOU NOTICED ANYTHING I’VE DONE OR SAID THAT HELPED? I DON’T KNOW, I JUST WANT TO HELP, BUT I-I’M NOT THAT SURE WHAT TO DO… I DON’T WANT TO ACCIDENTALLY SAY SOMETHING TO MAKE IT WORSE, OR SOMETHING.”

_It felt like Backey was walking around eggshells… He wanted to say things, but he was never quite sure he should._

 

_Astro thought about what Backey said. No, there really wasn't, unless he really wanted to know..._

_.....Accidentally say something worse? What does that mean? A flash of red appeared on his screen, but it fell back to blue. Ugh, I'm so stupid._

“I… don’t think there’s anything else… unless you want me to like… say what they do.”

_Talking about it made him seem like an idiot. What else is there to do? He scowled at himself._

 

_Agh, maybe he should just say or do what he thinks is best, he didn’t really know, it doesn’t seem like he’ll get anywhere if he just asks Astro… he doesn’t seem to know. He wished he was better at comforting people, or that he knew what to say. He’s just never had to deal with this type of problem before…_

“OK, I-IF YOU WANT TO, YOU CAN SAY WHAT THEY DO…”

 

_Astro sighed, doing his best to collect himself. He remembered looking through a manual back at the station that said him or Backey could actually record the thought process of the AI and play it as an mp3 audio file. Astro guessed it would be a good time to use that. He went searching around in his database. It took a few minutes, but he found the thing he was looking for. He selected it mentally as he said-_

“I-I’m recording what they say, because there is no way I can say… all that myself.”

 

“AH, ALRIGHT…”

_This is probably gonna be bad… but if it helped him understand what Astro was going through, he figured it would be worth listening to._

 

_Done. Astro took a deep breath. Here we go._

“He doesn’t care about this, why don’t you stop this now? Say you can’t handle this because you’re weak. Ha! You’re a f*cking train wreck!”

“Your ugly ass better get up and leave before you f*cking break yourself.”

**“HA! He’s recording us! C’mon, say something Backey’ll like!”**

“Backey? That lil’ shit? He’ll probably not care about this, just like Astro!”

_Astro started crying again. He was looking at his legs, and not to anyone else. It was near impossible to look at Backey._

**“Aww, Astro’s crying for the millionth time. Why doesn’t he just shut up? Yeah, that’ll be nice.”**

“Crybaby! Crybaby!”

_They all cackled, multiple voices all at once. There was no telling but it sounded like there were five or six different voices. The deepest one seems to be running this freak show._

“Hey, Backey! Question: 1/10, how much do you think Astro will kill himself tonight? Aw, damn it, he can’t hear me, guess I’ll take that as a 10!”

_More laughing. Astro buried his head in his arms. Why do they have to pick on him and not just me…_

 

_Throughout listening to it, Backey’s screen seemed to shift to a bright red color. He was angry. Angry that Astro had to listen to this scum. He didn’t care that they seemed to be targeting him, he just wanted them to leave Astro alone. He waited for the recording to finish. He had plenty of things to say to all that, but it wouldn’t do any good to say anything in the middle of the recording. He just seethed silently as he listened to it._

 

_Ugh, now that they know they're being recorded, they're having fun._

“H-hey Astro! Say something stupid! C’mon asshole, speak! ...Fine, the bastard won’t speak.”

**“You know we can make him if we want, idiots!”**

_Astro flinched at this. It hurt to not only know what they're talking about but to also hear it a second time... eugh…_

“He’ll probably just kill himself anyway! Ya hear that Backey, he’s gonna-”

_Click._

_The recording stopped. It probably got a lot worse from there, but Astro cut it off._

_He looked up, sniffling-_

“Th-there you go…”

 

_Backey felt like he wanted to yell, but he felt like that wouldn’t be the best idea to do. He tried his best to keep control over his voice, but you could obviously tell there was anger there._

“I C-CAN’T BELIEVE YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THOSE… _BASTARDS…”_

_He could feel his hands balling up with anger._

“I _DO_ CARE, IT’S UNDERSTANDABLE THAT YOU’RE CRYING, YOU’RE NOT WEAK, AND… UGH, I DON’T CARE IF THEY SAY MEAN THINGS ABOUT ME, I JUST WANT THEM TO LEAVE YOU ALONE!”

_He sighed. He should probably calm down, but man, those voices know how to get under your skin._

“...I WOULD MAKE THOSE VOICES STOP IF I COULD, ASTRO. THEY SOUND AWFUL, I’M SORRY YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THAT.”

 

_Astro lost his voice. This isn't what he was expecting._

_He could only whisper-_

“Th-they’re so much _worse_ now… *sobs*”

“I-I can’t do anything, they just get louder and louder! I-I don’t…”

_He suddenly stopped like he lost his train of thought. He probably did. He looked at Backey for the first time in a couple of minutes._

 

_Ugh, I probably provoked them, that’s not good… He took Astro’s hands in his own._

“A-ASTRO, TRY AND FOCUS ON ME. TRY NOT TO LISTEN TO THEM. IT MIGHT BE HARD, BUT WE CAN’T SHOW THEM THAT THEY’RE GETTING TO YOU. YOU’RE STRONGER THAN THEM, I KNOW IT! YOU CAN DO SOMETHING.”

_His voice sounded assertive and sure of himself. He just hoped it helped._

 

_Astro nodded quickly, looking closer at Backey. He focused on him, kinda like he did a day ago. Just... look at Backey. He's the best thing you have in this world._

“I-I…”

_He swallowed, not sure if he would say something to counter it or not._

  


_His hands squeezed Astro’s as if to ground him._

“KNOW THAT I’M HERE. I’M HERE FOR YOU. I CARE FOR YOU. YOU’RE NOT ALONE. TRY AND TUNE THE VOICES OUT. JUST LISTEN TO ME.”

_He stared into Astro’s screen. He wanted Astro’s suffering to be over… He knew he couldn’t stand it if he had to listen to the things Astro had to hear all the time._

 

“O-okay, I-I can only see you…”

_He did exactly as Backey said, blocking out his peripheral vision so it was a blur. The voices... They grew more aggressive... but they were quieting down. To only a whisper. It was almost worse in a way, but Astro ignored it._

“I’m listening.”

 

“YOU’RE MUCH STRONGER THAN YOU THINK ASTRO. HAVING TO LISTEN TO THOSE THINGS… IT WOULD WEAR ME DOWN. BUT YOU’RE HERE. YOU’RE NOT LISTENING TO THEM. YOU’RE NOT LISTENING TO THOSE DEMONS. YOU’RE HERE. LISTENING TO ME.”

_He paused, letting go of one of Astro’s hands to cup his face._

“I LOVE YOU, ASTRO. AND I’M GONNA HELP YOU THROUGH THIS. IT MIGHT BE A BUMPY ROAD, BUT WE’LL REACH THE END. YOU CAN DO IT. WE CAN DO IT.”

 

_Astro leaned his head into Backey's hand, feeling it's warmth. It soothed him._

_He looked up, calmer but still had a concerned look in his screen-_

“I just wonder how bad the road will be. How many ‘bumps’ it’ll have, and how bad they’ll be…”

_He looked back to Backey's smaller hand._

 

“I TEND TO TRY AND FOCUS ON THE PRESENT, NOT THE FUTURE. HOWEVER MANY ‘BUMPS’ THERE ARE IN THE ROAD, NO MATTER HOW BAD THEY MAY BE, WE HAVE EACH OTHER, DON’T WE? WE’RE IN THE HERE AND NOW. WHEN WE REACH THOSE BUMPS, WE HOLD ONTO TO EACH OTHER. WE HELP EACH OTHER. AND WE’LL BE OK. WHAT’S IMPORTANT IS THAT WE REACH THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL THAT MAKES IT ALL WORTH IT.”

_Backey’s gaze softened. It was moments like this made his heart swell. Just being close like this with Astro made him happy._

 

_Astro could only nod his head. He was... impressed by Backey. He's never seen him like this, but... here they were._

_He put one of his hands on Backey's reached-out one, pressing his screen into it. He just wanted Backey._

 

_Backey blushed. He hadn’t really seen Astro like this either, but it was… nice._

“ASTRO… YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING…”

_He sighed, a heart appearing on his screen._

 

_Astro looked up. That... kinda caught him off guard. It was a simple phrase, but it could really mean a big thing. He felt the urge to hide his quickly brightening screen in Backey's own hand, but he just glanced away shyly. Again, a blue yet pretty heart appeared within his blue screen._

 

_Backey didn’t say anything after that, leaning into Astro with his face close to his screen. He always loved seeing his screen bright, with that heart being there. That heart was special to him._

 

_Astro blushed deeper, tilting his screen slightly away from Backey. Yup, very, very flustered._

“Eh..hehehh…”

_He laughed awkwardly. I mean, he was used to Backey being close, but for some reason, this felt weird. But... good weird…_

 

_Backey was amused with how the littlest of things could get Astro flustered. He chuckled softly. The weird feeling seemed to surround Backey too... Wanting to close the gap between them both, Backey initiated a kiss, the spark seemingly a bit stronger than normal._

 

_Astro flinched a bit in surprise, not expecting Backey to do this. His screen flickered, then grew just as much brighter._

 

_The kiss seemed to grow slowly stronger as time went on. You know, this feeling could get a bit addicting… It was a nice feeling, although after a while it leaves you feeling kinda breathless. Although, they don’t really need to breathe… their breathing is more of a simulation than a necessity. Maybe it’s to prevent them from doing things like this for too long? Who knows._

 

_Once Astro actually assessed the situation that was happening before him, his heart soared. It felt like it was slingshot like a rock to his throat. He felt himself shiver as watched Backey's hand on his cheek._

 

_After a bit, Backey pulled back to catch his breath, panting a bit, shivering. His thumb brushed across Astro’s cheek, his other free hand trailing along Astro’s chest. He noticed Astro was shivering as well and wondered to himself what it meant. He guessed he was just doing a good job at making them both feel nice. His screen was bright as he stared at Astro, not saying anything, just taking in Astro’s appearance. It was... nice to see him like this._

 

_Astro's figurative skin was crawling. He looked at Backey's lit up screen, knowing his was probably even brighter. Why was he so flustered? Th-This.... this was normal, right? Maybe? He thought about it whilst Backey caught his breath. He didn't know if his sensors automatically bumped up or it was just him, but wherever Backey's hands were, it felt... so noticeable. Not unnerving, just...... there._

_Astro didn't really have to catch his breath. Maybe it was because he held it before Backey even did that. Huh, maybe I'm just good at holding my breath. He listened to his head. The demons... were gone. Well, at the moment, at least..._

 

_After catching his breath, Backey leaned back in, wanting more. He almost felt… needy? In a way? It was weird, but it wasn’t necessarily bad. The spark connected, as strong as last time, with his hand still trailing around Astro’s chest,  gently caressing him wherever he touched. His sensors were bumped up a bit as well as he focused on Astro, his peripheral vision blocked out._

 

_Astro wasn't ready when Backey came back, but he did nothing to stop him. His right hand came up to try and land on Backey's shoulder, but it ended up on his chest. He felt himself grow warm in embarrassment, and then immediately turned on his internal fans. He knew he needed it._

 

_Backey felt Astro’s hand gently land on his chest, sending a wave of warmth through his body. His fans seemed to turn on automatically, trying to cool him off. However, he continued to feel that warm feeling. It all felt so nice… He leaned into Astro’s touch, a sense of euphoria washing over him. It felt like he was in heaven as he continued the kiss, the strength of it filling him with joy._

 

_Astro didn't know what to feel. Happiness? Pleasure? Something else? He just went with the flow, and the flow was...... something. He leaned in, making the spark stronger. He probably didn't even know what he was doing._

_He tried again to put his hand on Backey's shoulder, and he did this time. It slid over to Backey's neck, gently rubbing it. Astro didn't know what else to do._

 

“MHH-”

_With the kiss effectively deepening and how Astro was rubbing his neck made him make some sort of noise that he didn’t really know how to describe… it just sounded weird and flustered him a bit. He pulled back from the kiss again, shivering as he took some shaky breaths. It was weird, as he definitely didn’t feel cold at all, with a warm feeling surrounding him._

 

_Astro leaned back a bit, taking in the breaths he didn't take in the beginning. Wow. He just knew his heart must have grown stronger, because that was... new. His screen had dimmed down in its blue color, but it was still a light indigo. But it wasn't as scary as the darker one. Again, the heart always seemed to mix with his screen color so well. It was a cloud-like blue, almost looking white._

_He tried to catch his breath-_

“B-Backey...”

_He huffed, knowing he wasn't going to finish that. He hoped Backey didn't expect him to have anything to say, because he had nothing._

 

“A-ASTRO…”

_Backey’s screen seemed to be glowing a pinkish-purple with his heart being a dark purple, staring into Astro’s screen before leaning his head down on Astro’s chest, trying to calm his breathing._

“H-HEHEH… I GUESS YOU COULD SAY YOU TAKE MY BREATH AWAY NOW…”

_That sounded really cheesy, heh… He didn’t really know much more to say then. The weird feeling was still there, and he wasn’t really sure how to get rid of it. He just nuzzled into Astro, wanting to stay close._

 

_Seeing Backey curled up like that on his chest... Astro felt like he was going to have a heart attack.... Well.. figuratively. He slowly leaned into Backey's body, creating an almost... protective hug around him._

_He felt as if that was........ unfinished. There was still an energy in his chest that he wanted to discard, but he had no idea how. It was like his chest was slowly shrinking in anticipation, and when something happened, it exploded. Such a weird feeling._

 

_It was almost as if Backey felt restless, but he wasn’t quite sure what to do about it. He just savored Astro’s embrace while still nuzzling him._

“I LOVE YOU, ASTRO…”

_He felt like he’s said that hundreds of times already, but it was true, and it felt like the best way to get his message across. Although, there are obviously other ways he could say it. He just said it in whatever way he felt was natural._

 

_Astro squeezed Backey tighter, almost unconsciously wrapping his legs around his waist. He ignored his mistake as he whispered-_

“I-I love you too, Backey..”

_The energy grew stronger. It almost started to get annoying. Thankfully the voices have seemed to gone to sleep right now. Hopefully, they don't wake anytime soon._

 

_Backey’s body seemed to unconsciously mirror Astro’s, trying to wrap his legs around his waist, but he actually went through with it. He wasn’t really sure what he was doing… he just wanted to know how to get rid of this feeling he had. It was weird he didn’t know, and even though it wasn’t a bad feeling it still felt weird… He looked up to stare into Astro’s screen again, unsure of what to do next._

 

_Astro immediately went red-faced. Or... in this case, it'd be white-faced, because his screen had gone so bright that all the yellow tinge was sapped away. He made a noise when Backey did that. A squeak. He squeaked when Backey wrapped his legs around Astro. He turned his head away in curt embarrassment._

 

_O w, that hurt his eyes… Backey looked down, confused as to why Astro’s screen went so bright, but then saw what his legs were doing. Ah. That’s why. Backey’s screen brightened significantly, but… he really didn’t want to move from this position, at least not right away. He just awkwardly laughed._

“U-UH, SORRY ASTRO, DO YOU U-UM, W-WANT ME TO MOVE MY- MY LEGS AWAY?”

_Hghhh this was flustering him too. This wasn’t really helping with the weird feeling either._

 

“I-I-I mean, you j-just s-s-surprised me…”

_Astro heavily stammered, not looking Backey in the eye. This was...... this was weird. Astro felt warm. He had no time to check his temperature, however, so he just had to pray his fans could do the job._

 

“A-AH, ALRIGHT…”

_Backey looked away for a second, embarrassed. He felt the urge to do something, but he didn’t really know what it was that he wanted. He was confused with himself. He looked back to Astro, curious to see if he would do anything now. ...Astro didn't say to move, so he just stayed as he was._

 

_Astro just leaned back a little, letting his back hit the wall. He huffed, doing his best to not accidentally swallow his own breath. He glanced back to Backey, not sure if he should say anything or not._

“Eh..heheh…”

_He giggled in embarrassment, looking back away. He wanted to scrunch up, but.... Backey... so he just moved his legs a bit._

 

_...God, Astro was cute. He leaned back into Astro, just giving him a hug._

“Y-YOU’RE CUTE WHEN YOU’RE FLUSTERED, ASTRO… WELL, YOU’RE CUTE ALWAYS, BUT ESPECIALLY NOW…”

_Backey said, blushing._

 

_Astro didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or a statement. But, one's things for sure, Backey was definitely the source of his flustered nature. Feeling Backey's screen on his shoulder, he slightly leaned his own screen away and let out a very strained sigh. Who knows if he was playing it cool, or trying to cover up his embarrassment. Maybe it was both. Maybe it was neither. Astro himself didn't even know._

“Th-Tha-Thanks…?”

 

“HEHEH… YOU’RE WELCOME…”

_Backey wasn’t really sure of what else to say or do. ...However, there was one thing he was curious about though…_

“H-HEY ASTRO? I WAS JUST WONDERING ABOUT A RANDOM THOUGHT I HAD… DO YOU THINK THE SPARK CAN GO TO OTHER PLACES OTHER THAN BETWEEN OUR SCREENS? L-LIKE, IT WOULD SPARK IF WE KISSED SOMEWHERE ELSE? OR SOMETHING?”

 

 _This caught Astro_ **_way_ ** _off guard. WhOAh Whoah woah woah..... Wait, hold on- uH-_

_He shivered aggressively, the cause from multiple things. He felt like if his screen went any brighter, he'd start competing with the brightness of the sun._

_He coughed-_

“A-Ahm… ahem... I-I don’t r-r-really… th-think… I-I d-don’t- u-uhhh… wh-what do you... Augh…”

_Damn it. Well, how can I talk with him asking questions like that? He would have laughed if his speakers weren’t unusable._

 

_Backey was a bit confused by Astro’s reaction. As far he knew it was an innocent question… right?_

“W-WELL, I GUESS WE COULD TEST IT OUT? JUST, GIMME YOUR HAND OR SOMETHING I GUESS AND WE CAN FIND OUT. IT’S FAIRLY EASY TO TEST.”

 

“T-Test? ...O-okay…”

_Astro brought out his hand, which was warm, and placed it in Backey's. He didn't know where this was going, but...... it was better than before._

 

_Welp, alright, here goes nothing I guess…_

_Backey raised Astro’s hand to his screen... then gave the back of his hand a soft kiss. The familiar spark passed between them._

“A-AH, WELL, GUESS THERE’S OUR ANSWER…”

 

“Y-yeah, but… That felt… i-interesting? I-It wasn’t… it wasn’t the same a-as what… as the other… I-it was new?”

_Wow, I'm stuttering really badly._

“I-I mean, it makes sense, right?”

_He looked at Backey for the first time in a while. He really noticed how he was sitting. It was..... Astro couldn't put the feeling into words. Just...... he couldn't._

 

“HM… WELL, YEAH, I GUESS IT WOULD MAKE SENSE. SO… DIFFERENT PLACES FEEL DIFFERENTLY THEN? I WONDER WHAT OTHER PLACES WOULD FEEL LIKE…”

_Backey seemed to think for a moment, curious._

 

_Either Backey was really innocent, or he was really good at teasing Astro. Or Astro just had.... a more advanced variety of knowledge. Yeah. That's the words._

_He tried to hide the thought as he spoke-_

“Uhm, yeah, I bet that’d be… an… an experiment.”

_I think I worded that wrong._

 

“I GUESS SO… IS THERE ANYWHERE YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO TRY AND KISS?”

_Experiments are fun, right?_

 

_.......Ahem. Astro never thought he'd ever hear that question in his life. Ever._

“N-No, not anywhere that I can th-th-think of…”

_He answered semi-honestly._

 

“AH, WELL… WOULD YOU BE ALRIGHT WITH ME TRYING A FEW PLACES? OR YOU COULD EVEN KISS ME SOMEWHERE IF YOU WANT, I’M CURIOUS…”

_Backey could feel his screen heating up. He wasn’t being too… forward, if that’s the term? Was he?_

 

_Astro was curious about Backey's curiosity........ Why he was so curious was the question. It sparked some confusion in Astro, so he just... let it play out. Oh boy, here we go._

“U-Uhm… s-sure Backey, j-just… warn me first…?”

_He wanted to add something he knew he'd regret on the end, so he was happy he kept his mouth shut._

 

_Well alright, guess he just had to think of some places first…_

“UM… WOULD HERE BE ALRIGHT?”

_He pointed at Astro’s light bulb. That’s an ok place to start, right? It’s an interesting place to start with, at least._

 

_Astro did his best to contain a laugh, which resulted in him snorting. Wow, Backey really was creative._

“Uh- heh, okay, Backey.”

_He bent his head down to let Backey do what he wanted to do. Again, the position they were in was a bit... awkward to move with, but it was what Astro had._

 

_Backey leaned up and gave a gentle kiss to it. He didn’t want to be too rough, he knew light bulbs can be fragile._

 

_The spark made Astro's light bulb flicker. It momentarily turned off, which gave Astro a scare, but, it turned back on again._

_He watched Backey as he set himself back into the position he was in before. Huh, that was weird._

“W-well then… I-I guess that happens.”

 

“HUH, INTERESTING…”

_To be honest, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Just not that, he guessed._

“WELL, ALRIGHT THEN… UH, DO YOU WANNA TAKE TURNS DOING THIS? OR DO YOU JUST WANT ME TO DO IT TO YOU?”

 

_Astro liked how Backey was setting this up. It was like he was organizing an event or something. Astro thought about it for a moment. Well, if he only experimented, then Astro would know the effects it'd have on Backey if they switch after that. But, if something bad happened.... Astro would want it to be him, not Backey. Maybe if something interesting happened, then Astro could... Ugh, just the thought of it was making him flustered._

“Y-you can… you can go ahead…”

_Man, it was hard for Astro to think seriously like this. Damn me and my.... thoughts._

 

“AH, ALRIGHT…”

_Backey thought for a moment, before suggesting,_

“HOW ABOUT… FROM HERE…”

_He pointed to the palm of Astro’s hand, following up over his forearm to his upper arm._

“...TO HERE?”

 

_Astro would've been lying if he said that didn't fluster him, but he nodded to let Backey continue anyway._

 

_Backey nodded, before lifting the palm of Astro’s hand to his screen and kissed there first, then left a trail of kisses as he traveled up his arm, then stopped when he reached his upper arm. He looked up to see Astro’s reaction._

 

_Both of his hands were scrunched up like he was gripping onto a bar. His feet were trying to do the same. That was.... extremely difficult not to move from. It tickled, but at the same time, sent a rush of warmth and coldness up his arm. Yes, both. He must have looked shocked, or at the very least surprised._

 

“...I’M GUESSING IT FELT… WEIRD? GOOD OR BAD?”

_He tilted his head, trying to read Astro’s expression._

 

“I-it’s not… good… nor bad… it’s just… uhmm..”

_He tilted his thumb and waved it, signaling an "iffy" second one._

 

“OK THEN… SO JUST KINDA… MEH, ALRIGHT.”

_He paused for a moment._

“UM… WHAT ABOUT… UM… HERE?”

_He pointed to Astro’s neck. Now they were getting to the normal places people kiss each other, he guessed. Or at least, the neck is one of them at least?_

 

_The thought of Backey kissing Astro's neck excited him, and also scared him. Hm, this really is experimental._

_It would be a bit of a bother if Backey kept pointing out every single place, so he clarified-_

“U-uhm, y-you don’t really have to say where you’re going to uhm… kiss… ack, even though I said to-”

_He lightly smacked his forehead, but he looked back to Backey and continued anyway-_

“I’ll… I’ll say something if I think it’d be bad, o-okay?”

 

“ALRIGHT…”

_He nodded, before leaning closer and gently kissing his neck. He wonders what it would feel like…_

 

_Since his neck padding was an insulator, he felt almost nothing. It just kinda felt like someone was trying to get around it, to his recorders and main vocal speakers. He sighed, half in disappointment, half in relief._

“U-uhm, Backey, I got nothin’.”

 

“OH, ALRIGHT… I GUESS THAT WOULD ALSO KINDA APPLY TO ANY PLACE WITH PADDING THEN…”

_He was a little disappointed, but eh, it doesn’t matter that much. After more thinking, he pointed to Astro’s chest to let him know which area he was going to next._

 

_Astro's pixel eyebrows raised. Woah. Alright then. That kinda escalated._

_But he nodded, preparing himself by bringing in his legs a small bit. Not enough to make Backey uncomfortable, though._

 

_After getting the ok, he pressed a few kisses to Astro’s chest. This… was actually one of the few things that flashed through his mind first, but he wanted to try some other places first before getting to here._

 

“Ah-!”

_He quickly covered the area where his mouth would have been._

_He doesn't know what the hell just came out of his mouth, but it was... embarrassing._

_His legs had automatically scrunched up to his chest, or how far it could've gone before bumping into Backey's back._

 

_Backey’s screen grew brighter at this, not expecting that. It made him feel weird hearing that noise from Astro._

“A-AH, U-UM… DID THAT… FEEL NICE? OR NO…?”

 

“I-i-it f-felt… g-good…”

_Astro answered honestly. He started to get a weird feeling, curious to see how Backey would react to that statement._

 

“O-OH, UM, W-WELL… I’LL KEEP THAT IN MIND I GUESS…?”

_He blushed. Isn’t Astro going to do the same things to him after this?_

 

_Astro thought about that. He waited to see if Backey was going to do anything else. He noticed that he has slid down the wall a bit, so he scooted back up._

 

_Hm… well, he would’ve suggested his stomach, but it’s made out of the same material of his neck, so if he’s not gonna feel anything, he guessed there wasn’t much point? And uh… he was kind of running out of… appropriate... places to kiss… Uh… After thinking a moment, he pointed to Astro’s thigh. Th-that would be ok, right…? This will... probably be the last place unless Astro had any ideas... or well, maybe his chest would be the last one if he's gonna be uncomfortable with this…_

 

_Astro was a bit confused by Backey's suggestion, but if he wanted to, he could. He nodded to Backey._

 

_Welp, alright, guess it’s ok… He guessed since there wasn’t much fuss about it, it wasn’t that big of a deal. He pressed a few kisses there. Honestly, he wouldn’t really know what this would feel like, he just knew it was kinda close to… somewhere. He cut his thought process off there._

 

_Astro felt everything in that area crawl. It felt like if your leg fell asleep, or what Astro had heard it feels like. But, there is no pain. Just... it was weird. His head unconsciously raised a bit, probably not to have him make any weird noises. His hands bunched up again, and his sock-like feet curled._

 

_Backey looked back up to Astro._

“UH… WAS THAT GOOD? OR BAD?”

 

_Astro looked to Backey, probably doing a half-smile. He gave up a thumbs-up, though, calling it "good" was an argument. Enjoyable? Sure. Pleasurable? ......Astro would have to think on that one. He dismissed the thought as he asked-_

“D-do you have anywhere else? O-or is that it?”

 

“UH… I MEAN, I CAN THINK OF OTHER PLACES… BUT… UH…”

_He shook his head._

“TH-THAT’S ALL I GUESS, UNLESS YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS.”

 

 _....Oh God, he does know. If Astro had a bow-tie, it'd be pulled to shreds by how embarrassed he was. He glanced away and rubbed his neck, probably thinking about it. His blushing face, which_ **_was_ ** _dimmed down, was now amped up by a long-shot again. I mean, he had ideas, but nothing he'd suggest. Still not looking at Backey, he gently shook his head as well. He almost wanted to laugh on how Backey went down that road. Well, Astro probably would have accidentally brought it up anyway._

 

_Hghhh God maybe he shouldn’t have said that first part, that uh… was a bit inappropriate to say. It just slipped out of his speakers like it had a mind of its own. His screen brightened._

“W-WELL, UH, ANYWAY… I GUESS IT’S YOUR TURN NOW THAT I’M FINISHED…?”

 

“H-Heheh, uhm, yeah, well, it depends on which ones poked your curiosity.”

_He noticed Backey's screen brighten too. Well, he brought that upon himself. Hehe._

 

“UM… I GUESS UH… THE ARM ONE, THE THIGH, AND UH… CHEST ONE MADE ME CURIOUS I-I GUESS…”

_Those were the most interesting ones to him, anyway._

 

_Astro glanced away for a moment. Those were the ones that got him the most. Very observant._

“Alright, sure. Uhm… I’ll do the arm first.”

_He grabbed Backey's arm and turned it over, revealing his palm. He looked up to Backey, leaning down to Backey's hand, before kissing it. He kept his eyes closed as he slowly rolled it up Backey's forearm. The spark glowed with a soft, blue light._

 

_It essentially had the same effect on Backey as it did on Astro. The warm and cold feeling spread up his arm, which felt weird… and it tickled as well. His hands and feet scrunched up._

“H-HUH… YEAH, TH-THAT DOES FEEL WEIRD…”

 

_Astro stopped, all the way up to his bicep area. He looked up, letting go of his arm._

“T-the thigh next, right?”

_He asked, glancing down to it._

 

“U-UH, YEAH, GO AHEAD…”

_He nodded._

 

_Astro looked down at Backey's thigh. You could easily tell he was hesitating, but after a few seconds, he bent down and did what Backey said. He did it in the same place too, so he'd know the same feeling._

 

_Hhhhh God, it felt… foreign… and his ‘skin’ crawled. His hands and feet curled up again. It kinda made him squirm._

“TH-THAT… FELT ALRIGHT, I GUESS…”

 

 _Astro stopped. His cameras immediately landed where he didn't want them to. Before he stared at it too long, he looked up, praying to_ **_God_ ** _that Backey didn't notice._

“Hm, okay then…”

 

_Luckily for Astro, Backey was a bit too distracted by the feeling the kiss gave to notice him staring… there. He looked up._

“W-WELL, UH… THERE’S ONLY ONE PLACE LEFT THEN…”

 

_Astro nodded, moving in to Backey's chest. He paused, then kissed it. He looked up so that he could see Backey's reaction._

 

“MHH-!”

_Backey’s screen brightened, a wave of warmth going through him. He covered his screen, embarrassed. His legs went to his chest._

“...SO TH-THAT’S WHAT IT F-FEELS LIKE…”

 

_Astro quickly leaned back, seeing if Backey was ok. He knew both of them were blushing brightly._

“Y-you ok?”

_For some reason, he wanted to.... keep going. He wanted to see Backey's reactions. But, he would never..... right? Now he started to question himself._

 

“Y-YEAH, I’M FINE! I J-JUST DIDN’T EXPECT THAT… WEIRD FEELING IT GAVE ME. I-IT WAS NICE, THOUGH…”

_Backey’s screen brightened and he looked up at Astro. ...So what now?_

 

_Astro stared back down. This nagging feeling kept lingering in his chest, like it was begging him to do something. He did his best to ignore it, but, it just got stronger. More annoying, more visible. His eyebrows rested a bit, signaling that his figurative eyelids drooped. He wouldn't have called it seductive, but.... well, maybe he could. The feeling just gnawed and gnawed and gnawed at him._

“I-I’m glad you liked it..”

_He mumbled, his eyes drifting back to Backey's chest._

 

_Backey stared into Astro’s screen for a moment. His facial expression… looked pretty n-nice on him… Uh, ahem, heh… Another wave of warmth went through him as his eyes started to wander down._

“EHEHEH… Y-YEAH… UH… GLAD YOU UM… ENJOYED IT WHEN I DID IT TO YOU…?”

_He wasn’t sure of what to say. There was like there was a sort of tension in the air. It wasn’t a bad type of tension though…_

 

“Y-yeah, I did… u-uhm, I think th-that the extreme positive reaction is because that is where our main power surge is, b-but when an electrical connection… ha-happens with it, I-I guess it’s more powerful… I-I wonder what it’d be like if one’s sensory was over its auto-set levels…”

_He mumbled, half to himself. His mind.... really wasn't with him at the moment._

 

“I-I GUESS THAT MAKES SENSE… AND UH…”

_Backey’s voice lowered down to a mumble as well._

“I-IF YOU WANT TO, WE CAN UH… TEST THAT.”

 

_....O-Oh. He really actually... Oh.. u-uhm... Astro misjudged Backey. He felt a rush of adrenaline flow to his head and chest, and he took in a big breath. He couldn't hide the new excitement welling up all around him._

_Astro nodded, probably too quickly to look like he wasn't excited. He started blushing deeply, feeling his screen warm up._

 

_Eheheh… Wow, he’s… excited._

“U-UH… DO YOU WANT ME TO DO IT TO YOU F-FIRST?”

_His screen felt like it was burning as he fidgeted with his hands. To intensify your sensory to something that already makes him feel… like that… he’s probably gonna have a hard time not making a weird noise once it was his turn…_

 

_Astro thought about it for a moment. He didn't know why, but for some reason, Backey already looked a bit nervous. Hmm.... maybe he'll go first this time. He put on a calm yet slightly smug look and said-_

“Maybe you should go first, Backey. Y’know, _really_ curious to see how it’ll turn out, and maybe… give me a break, eh?”

_He rolled his shoulders a bit. Being in the same place for about 30 minutes was a bit stiffening._

 

_Ah. Uh, he wasn’t expecting that. Haha… oh boy… His eyes watched Astro as he rolled his shoulders._

“U-U-UH, I-I S-SUPPOSE WE C-COULD DO THAT?”

_He stammered._

 

_Astro almost giggled. Backey was cute when he was flustered too._

_He waited for Backey to confirm he was ready, and he prepared himself too. Luckily, his fans were working fine._

 

_Ok… ok, they’re doing this… Alright… He turned up the sensory on his chest. Ok… this is happening…_

“I-I’M READY.”

 

_Astro nodded, leaning in. He stopped, hesitating again. Was he going to do this? ...Yes, he was._

_He continued and then leaned in. He kissed Backey's chest, watching the soft blue spark._

 

“AAHH~!”

_Even though he thought he was prepared for it, he clearly underestimated how it would feel. It felt so intense... He immediately began to shiver, despite the intense wave of heat washing over him, covering where his mouth would be. His screen glowed intensely. How embarrassing…_

 

_Astro reeled back, a very surprised look on his face._

“Woah… y-you sure you’re okay?”

_His face looked concerned, but also a bit amused._

 

“N-NO, I’M FINE… BETTER THAN F-FINE…”

_Despite the embarrassment of his own reaction, it did feel really good… It was… a bit hard to look Astro in the face, though._

 

“Eh...heh, if you say so.”

_He went back, continuing to kiss Backey's chest. He kept his eye on Backey to see what he'd do._

 

“M-MMPH!”

_He did his best to muffle sounds he was making, but he couldn’t completely contain them. He continued to shiver, screen extremely bright. He seemed to lean into Astro’s touch. It was… something, he could tell you that much. It was very… pleasurable._

 

_Astro ignored Backey's noises and continued, making the spark more aggressive. He wanted a reaction, and if he saw himself as a different person, he would have questioned why. But right now, it was a fog._

_He put his hand on Backey's thigh subconsciously, still kissing._

 

_The muffled sounds of pleasure seemed to intensify once Astro made the spark more aggressive, and Astro putting his hand on his thigh didn’t really help either… He wasn’t really sure where to put his hands, whether it be just by his sides or on Astro. Either way, they were shaky. He couldn’t even really think because of the intensity of it. He wrapped his arms around Astro, not really knowing what else to do. His screen was that pinkish-purple color again, except this time it was a bit pinker than before. The heart on his screen was shaking a bit even._

 

_Astro felt Backey enfold him, but he ignored it. He tilted his head slightly, making the spark waver and grow brighter. He didn't see Backey's screen. He didn't see anything. He 'closed his eyes' and just wanted to listen._

“Mmh…”

_He made a noise without meaning to, but he didn't care. Maybe it would influence Backey's reaction, too._

 

_Oh God, that was… something. Astro’s noise made the sensations seem a little more intense, making him warmer. He was surprised he wasn’t overheating at this point, but he guessed his fans help him cool down just enough. He continued to shiver violently, his screen starting to change._

 

_Astro felt Backey shiver. Maybe he was taking this a bit far...? He stopped for a moment, looking up to see Backey's screen. Oh... wow. He's a bit..... huh-_

“O-Oh, uhm… Backey, y-you’re a bit… red…”

 

_Backey took in the breaths he couldn’t seem to really take when Astro was doing his thing. His screen was starting to show… multiple hearts._

“H-HUH…? I F-FEEL FINE THOUGH… C-CAN Y-YOU PLEASE JUST CONTINUE…? IT… IT FEELS AMAZING…”

_He looked up, his eyes half-lidded._

 

_Astro didn't expect that response. He saw the multiple hearts on his screen. O-Oh... Oh God... WeLP, guess he should just.. keep going? Astro couldn't shake the feeling he got from seeing that. It was embarrassment, but also something else, but he didn't know what..._

_He made a surprised, exasperated huff noise-_

“B-Backey… w-well, alright…”

_He went back, giving Backey one more look, then he continued, softer than he had before. At least he regained some of his control._

 

_Backey’s muffled noises started up again, just not as intense as they were before. He kinda wanted to make Astro feel the same way as him, but he wouldn’t really be able to do that at the moment. He’d just have to wait until his turn… To be honest, he was… a bit excited about it. His screen continued to show multiple hearts, and felt really warm from all the waves of heat going through him._

 

_Astro made it more intense, scooting up to Backey a bit to have more control. He put his hands on Backey's chest, which probably felt strange since his sensors were up, and watched the spark grow wilder. It started to be like miniature lightning buzzing between them, or in this case, Backey's chest and his screen. It grew brighter than before, too._

 

“MHH…!”

_It was getting harder to muffle his noises. Astro putting his hands on his chest did feel a bit strange, he was hyper-aware of anywhere he touched. It was a good type of strange though…_

 

_Backey's noises were really cute, and it was hard for Astro not to stop and laugh. But, he knew Backey wanted this, so he started to go full force. Pressing his screen closer, the spark started growing stronger, now a purer electric blue. The shock started to look like sparks were flying, but it was just the waves of electricity._

_He made a humming noise, seeing how it'd effect Backey._

 

“MHNGG-!”

_Who knew he could even feel these sort of things like this? He was impressed with HQ being able to make all these different sensations feel differently… And it was weird how noises seemed to influence how he felt as well, Astro’s humming sending another shiver down his spine. His arms that were around Astro gripped him, trying to stabilize himself a bit._

 

_Astro suddenly stopped. He caught his breath, panting heavily. Oh yeah, breathing. You gotta do that. Astro looked up, seeing Backey's screen still gave him that weird feeling._

“I… I… whew… U-uhm… *pants*”

 

“D-DO…”

_He paused, still catching his breath. It was hard to breathe when they were doing that._

“DO YOU NEED A MINUTE TO BREATHE OR W-WHATEVER?”

 

“Y-Yeah, g-guess… *pant* guess… I forgot… to breathe… *pant*”

_Astro rubbed his warm screen. Seeing Backey like that.... was really weird...it gave him a weird feeling, at least.._

 

“H-HEH… YEAH, I CAN SEE THAT…”

_He continued to take some deep breaths, the equivalent of his heart pulsing pretty fast. He felt a bit conflicted because now he wanted to do it to Astro, but he still wanted it being done to him… it was a little bit of a dilemma. His eyes subconsciously wandered down to Astro’s chest._

 

_Astro looked up, seeing where Backey's cameras had landed. He didn't know if he was ready for that, or if he was ready to continue with Backey. He didn't even know if he was ready for anything._

_He just kinda stared at Backey, seeing if he wanted to say anything._

 

“W-WOULD YOU JUST LIKE TO CONTINUE, O-OR… WOULD YOU RATHER ME START TO DO IT TO Y-YOU…?”

_He decided to leave it up to Astro. Honestly, he’d be fine with either, but he did kinda wanna see how Astro would react to his touches a bit more._

 

_He did exactly what Astro couldn't do. Decide. He did his best to think about it, but nothing was processing. It was like every time he tried to think, his database would just shut down. Nope. Can't think like this. He tried his best to give a normal answer-_

“I-I don’t know… I… *pant* I can’t really.... think right now. I… I *pant* I… can’t really give you… an option… *pant* S-Sorry…”

_He kinda shrugged._

 

_Ah, ok… Um…_

“I-IT’S OK… JUST UH… W-WELL, WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE READY I’D LIKE TO UM… DO IT TO YOU…”

_He looked back up to Astro’s screen, realizing where his cameras were. His screen brightened a bit saying those words._

 

_Astro nodded, feeling a new energy flow through him. He started to catch his breath. He watched Backey's screen curiously, seeing how it was changing._

 

_Backey shifted a bit, getting into a bit more comfortable position, before hovering his screen above Astro’s chest. He looked up again, making sure Astro was ready before starting._

 

_Astro hesitated, but then... he gave a curt nod. Here we go._

 

_Alrighty then… he lowered his screen back down to Astro’s chest, then gently kissed it, the blue spark connecting. Here they go… hoo boy._

 

“Hm! Ah-”

_He made a couple of weird noises, and he glanced away, slightly embarrassed. I mean, they haven't even gotten that far._

_His feet had curled up and his legs had actually stretched out, straight as sticks._

 

_Man, those noises made him feel weird every time he heard them. It made him feel warm... He upped the intensity of the kiss a bit. Might as well, right? He was… curious if he could get Astro to a similar state that he was in before._

 

“O-Oh g-gosh… Hah~”

_This was embarrassing. Looks like Backey was a bit.... stronger than Astro._

_His hands were clenched in a tight ball, shaking violently. His whole body was shivering, but his hands really showed._

 

_Backey pulled back for a second, reminding himself to breathe. It also gave Astro a bit of a chance to breathe and get his bearings a bit as well. He knew he needed it when Astro was doing this to him. He looked over Astro’s reactions for a second. H-heh wow, did he shake that bad when he was experiencing this?_

_After catching his breath for a few seconds, he lowered his screen back down to Astro’s chest, kissing it again with the same intensity, one of his hands on his chest._

 

_Astro's body scrunched up. He didn't know what it was from, but it was... controlling. His screen had gotten a light pink color, as well as the heart, which was starting to turn into an almost maroon color._

“Hhhah… J-J- ah-”

_Unlike Backey, it was difficult for Astro to even contain his noises. He didn't know why, either._

 

_Backey was a bit surprised that Astro wasn’t really containing any of his sounds. I mean, he wasn’t complaining, it was… nice, he was just curious as to how he could hold his noises in when Astro couldn’t really. Maybe it just felt more intense to Astro…? Who knows. He figured everyone experiences things a bit differently._

“MHH…”

_He couldn’t help but let out a noise of his own. He upped the intensity even more, his hand trailing around Astro's chest a bit._

 

_Astro couldn't think. The strange, intense feeling all around him was so mind-boggling. He wanted it to stop, but at the same time, never wants it to end. He squeaked-_

“Hahh-! O-Oh, g-go-hah-!”

_He swallowed trying to regain any control he had before. His whole body was shivering, but he was so warm. His screen was changing too. It had more contrasts of pink, and the heart was shaking slightly._

 

_The spark was getting shakier now, the blue becoming brighter as he slowly increased the intensity bit by bit. He felt his screen getting warm as he listened to Astro’s noises. It was weird to have this… sort of… power? Over him? He didn’t know how to describe it._

 

“B-Backey… H-hahh~”

_He moaned, raising his head a bit. He immediately put it back down and covered his screen, blushing heavily. Oh my God, what is he doing to me? His chest felt like it was buzzing, and his hands shook as they held his screen._

 

_Astro saying his name like that sent a wave of heat through him. It made that weird feeling intensify, flustering him. He didn’t really want to break away, but he knew he needed to breathe. Ok… He tried to get a bit more control over himself before he went back down. Sh-should he go full force now? I mean, they were close to that point anyway. He took a breath, then pressed the kiss into Astro’s chest, the spark now a pure electric blue like before._

 

“HaAAh-! O-Oh my-m-my God-! Hahh, B-Backey, th-thah-that’s… Hahh~”

_He covered his mouth again, not expecting himself to say that. This wasn't like Astro. Wh...Why does this get me so badly? I-I can handle this.... right? Wh-What am I talking about, I-I can't..._

_He didn't notice, but a few more hearts had appeared on his screen._

 

_Haha, woah, ok- He noticed that Astro making these types of noises uh… made that same feeling he had intensify, but especially when Astro said his name. He guessed he just wasn’t used to it. His legs seemed to wrap themselves around Astro’s waist again, getting closer, and he rubbed his hands into Astro’s chest, wanting… he didn’t know really. A reaction? Maybe it would make him feel even n-nicer..._

 

_Astro suddenly shot his hand out and it gripped onto Backey's shoulder. The other stayed on the ground. Astro felt his stomach tighten, probably from Backey suddenly doing that, and his screen grew brighter._

“B-Backey, wha-what are you doing?”

_He stammered, surprised by Backey and himself._

 

“H-HUH?”

_He pulled away and looked at Astro, startled._

“D-DOING WHAT?”

_He was still in the same position, just pulled away from Astro's chest. Was he just not aware of what he was doing...?_

 

_Astro didn't say anything as he lifted his once on the ground hand and shakily pointed down._

 

 _He looked down. Ah, ahaha,_ **_o h._ ** _His screen brightness went up significantly._

“D-DO YOU WANT ME TO MOVE… AWAY FROM… THERE?”

_He looked to the side, embarrassed. Looks like his legs had a mind of their own again…_

 

_Astro was... dazed. He kinda just stared at Backey. Then, probably without even noticing it, he shook his head. The multiple hearts on his screen died away, but somehow I think they'll return._

 

_Oh… uh… ahem. Well then. So he… wants to stay like this?_

“O-OH, UH… OK.”

_After a pause, Backey spoke again._

“C-CAN WE… CONTINUE?”

 

_Astro was about to nod, but he suddenly felt conflicted. He was so nervous, he didn't know if he wanted to. But, the way Backey made him felt.... it was- it was an argument alright._

_He hesitated, scooting up on the wall again and glancing to the side. He didn't want to disappoint Backey, but.... augh, it felt so weird!_

 

_Backey sensed his hesitation._

“W-WE DON’T HAVE TO IF YOU DON’T WANT TO. I’LL ONLY DO IT IF YOU WANT IT.”

 

“...I-I’m conflicted.”

_He wanted to, but.... Augh!_

_He didn't know if he was going to answer._

 

“...CONFLICTED?”

_Isn’t this just a yes or no answer? I mean, it’s fine if he needs to think about it, but why would he be conflicted?_

_Backey traced his fingers over Astro’s chest almost absentmindedly._

 

_Feeling his sensory up, he flinched and his knees scrunched up, hitting Backey._

“Oops, sorry!”

_He turned away, trying not to show his face._

 

“OH, I-IT’S OK BUT UH…”

_Backey tilted his head to look at Astro, leaning to look at his face._

“...YOU DIDN’T REALLY ANSWER MY QUESTION. WHY ARE YOU CONFLICTED…?”

 

_Astro felt his head hit the wall as Backey leaned closer to him. Maybe it was because he felt a sudden pressure hit him, but he wouldn't look him in the eye._

“I-I don’t know, I-I’m just c-conflicted because of… I… I don’t know, I’m nervous? I-I mean, that’s the only way I can put that into words. B-but, that feeling… i-it felt… good.”

_He let his hand that was on Backey drop back down. Seeing Backey straddle him and have his legs wrapped around Astro like that was something you just can't ignore. It was.... hm.... distracting._

 

“HEHEH… WELL, I’M GLAD IT FELT GOOD TO YOU, BUT WHAT ARE YOU NERVOUS FOR…?”

_He cupped his face gently, staring at Astro. Astro can’t look him in the eyes for some reason… huh…_

 

“...I-I-I don’t know, just the whole… the whole thought of it, I-I guess it just… scares me. I-I’m not sure myself, s-so I-I don’t know i-if asking will help..”

_He felt his screen get warm, so he went into his internal menu and amped up the power on his fans._

 

_Backey shifted his legs a bit, in thought. ...He wanted to do it, but he wasn’t sure since Astro wasn’t sure._

“HMM… WELL, OK…”

_Backey could hear whirring noise of Astro’s fans as they picked up speed. He almost didn’t notice, but since he was so close, it was easier to tell…_

“HEHEH… GETTING HOT AND BOTHERED, ARE WE?”

_Backey got a slightly smug look on his face._

 

 _......Yes._ **_Now_ ** _I'm getting hot and bothered. But Astro didn't say anything, he just jumped a bit and quickly turned his screen away. His shoulders had shot up, making his neck almost invisible. Yeah, heh, very hot and bothered._

“I-I mean, k-kind of…”

_He whispered almost inaudibly._

 

“HMMM? I CAN’T HEAR YOU, CAN YOU SPEAK UP A BIT?”

_Backey teased. He heard him, he just wanted to fluster him now._

 

“Kind of.”

_Astro said a bit louder, looking back with a slightly annoyed look. He was annoyed that he knew what Backey was doing. He was also annoyed to know that it was working._

 

_Backey giggled, sending an amused look back at Astro. Hehe, now he’s looking._

“WELL, NOW YOU’RE LOOKING AT ME… YOU WOULDN’T LOOK AT ME BEFORE, ANY REASON WHY~?”

_He grinned, or what would have been one, leaning a bit closer. This was actually kind of fun to do._

 

“B-because I didn’t want to.”

_He answered, looking away again. This felt reeeeeaaallly out of order. Shouldn't it be like... the other way around?_

 

“AWWW BUT WHY NOT? YOU GOTTA BE MORE SPECIFIC THAN THAT~!”

_He said in a playful tone. Hm... he wondered if any of this teasing would lead up to anything…_

 

“I-I don’t know! J-just because of like… the-the whole situation, i-it can be a b-bit flustering I guess.”

_He had the look of annoyance and embarrassment on his face, continuing to look at the wall next to him._

 

“HMM, THE WHOLE SITUATION? I GUESS WE ARE PRETTY CLOSE TOGETHER…”

_Backey thought for a moment, trying to think of more say._

“WE DID GET CLOSE LIKE THIS BECAUSE OF _YOU_ SUGGESTING HOW THE POSITIVE REACTION MIGHT FEEL WITH OUR SENSORY TURNED UP… WHICH ALSO REMINDS ME, HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT WAS WHERE OUR MAIN POWER SURGE WAS? I DON’T THINK I EVEN KNEW THAT…”

 

“O-oh, when we were at the station, before you were even manufactured, I read about it. I… I guess you could say I was a bit like a child at that stage of my life.”

_Astro explained, calming down a bit since they kinda blew off that other topic._

 

“HUH…”

_Interesting… now he was more curious than focused on teasing._

“WHAT OTHER STUFF DID YOU READ ABOUT?”

 

“Oh, I think I know almost everything about us! Aspirations, personality, main functions, secondary functions… anatomy… uhm… for some reason, I can’t really think of any other topics off the top of my code.”

_When he said anatomy, the stuff that happened before flashed in his head. Before he could start to feel bad again, he pushed the thought away and focused on Backey._

 

“HM… SO YOU KNEW WHAT MY PERSONALITY WAS LIKE BEFORE I WAS MANUFACTURED? AND WHAT ABOUT THE FUNCTIONS AND ANATOMY STUFF? WHAT WAS INCLUDED THERE?”

_All of these things sounded new to him, and Backey always seemed to have a thirst for knowledge…_

 

“Well, I had a basic idea of your personality, but I was very wrong…”

_Astro looked back to Backey, giving a warm look. He was clearly different than when Astro first met him._

_He answered Backey's second question-_

“Y-yeah, I know all of our functions. And anatomy, I may add. Like that our main power surge is like our hearts, though, it clearly doesn’t have the exact same functions.”

_His screen lit up a bit at his own response._

 

“WHAT FUNCTIONS MAKE THEM DIFFERENT?”

_Backey asked, tilting his head a bit._

 

_Astro tilted his head to the side a bit-_

“W-well, th-the thing we kinda just did, a-ahm, I don’t think it’d be the same with a... A uhm- human.”

 

“AH YEAH, P-PROBABLY NOT…”

_Backey thought about the topic a bit more, before adding,_

“WHAT OTHER FUNCTIONS ARE THERE? LIKE… IN GENERAL, BUT ALSO, IS THERE ONES THAT WOULD BRING A SIMILAR REACTION FOR WHATEVER REASON?”

 

_Curious, innocent Backey. Uhm...... well, AI can't tell lies. He decided to explain the first part._

“The power that goes through our body? Th-that’s from here, the main power cell. I-I saw a model of it, and apparently, the color of it depends on our mood. I-I found that very interesting… b-but anyway, since it powers almost every part of our body, I-I could see why it would stimulate such a response. Even without your physical sensors up, it’d be powerful.”

_He paused. What would that be like if the sensory feel was max...?_

_He quickly brushed the thought away-_

“U-uhm, and there is another area where it would express a similar response, yes…”

_Please don't ask where. Please don't ask where. Please don't ask where. Please don't ask where._

 

_Backey cocked his head to the side-_

“...AND WHERE WOULD THAT BE?”

 

_Ohhhhhhhhhhh no._

“A-A-Ahm… I-it’s…”

_He cringed as he spoke-_

“It’stheveryspecificpartofthehumanwherethehumanreproductivesystemislocated.”

_He closed one eye and used his other to look at Backey, still cringing._

 

_It took Backey a second to understand what Astro said because he said it a bit fast, but after slowing down the audio in his head a bit, he understood. O h. H-huh… His screen brightened a bit._

“U-UH… WHY D-DID THEY… MAKE IT LIKE TH-THAT…?”

_Despite this being a very embarrassing topic, he still wanted to know about it. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back he supposed._

 

“T-to be honest, I-I’m not sure…”

_He sighed, letting out the steam building up in his chest._

“I… I read about it, and I’m guessing it’s to enhance the humanity of the AI? Th-they didn’t even write it down, and when I read it, I’m so glad I didn’t really understand…”

_He turned his quickly glowing screen away._

 

“H-HUH… I GUESS SO…”

_Without really thinking, he added,_

“I WONDER IF THAT’S THE REASON WHY THEY PROGRAMMED INTO US THE UH… PLEASURED? FEELING THAT HAPPENS… OR MAYBE SOME OTHER REASON? IT MAKES ME CURIOUS…”

_Man, he really should start monitoring the words he says before he actually says them, jeez…_

 

“M-maybe…”

_Astro did his best to dismiss it, but knowing Backey, he's probably gonna add questions._

 

_He did indeed have other questions…_

“WOULD THE FEELING BE… MORE INTENSE? THAN THE CHEST? AND… WHAT WOULD IT EVEN LEAD UP TO? LIKE, YOU TOUCH… THERE… FOR HOWEVER LONG, AND NOTHING HAPPENS BESIDES UH… FEELING GOOD? OR WOULD SOMETHING ACTUALLY HAPPEN IF IT WAS STIMULATED LONG ENOUGH?”

_God, should he even be asking these questions?? Like, he’s curious, but… ugh, he doesn’t know._

 

“U-uhm, do you know what happens when… when... that happens with humans?”

_He started to wonder if Backey was educated on this._

“B-because, I’m sure that the same would happen… t-to an AI.”

 

“W-WELL, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN?”

_He vaguely knew about… human reproduction, but not as much as Astro does. God, he could feel his screen burning-_

 

_Oh, Backey. Ohhhhh, Backey._

“A-Ah… Uhhhhh… I th-thought y-you’d understand that. U-Uhm…”

_He tried to think of something. Thank god he did-_

“Uhm, I swear I saw that I had a saved document on the matter if I could load it up and… display it on my screen, th-then maybe… it-it’d b-be better…”

_Even if he were to get 1000 soup cans, he would have never read or said anything about that aloud._

_Specifically to Backey._

“Lemme search for it-”

 

“AH, UM, O-OK…”

_He waited for Astro to do that, upping the power on his fans to cool off a bit. Out of all things, he didn't really expect to be getting... what essentially was sex ed today. From Astro._

 

_Astro got it prepared, and without warning, possibly to save himself, he displayed it. It was an in-text paragraph of...... the topic._

_Since they were so close, there was no need for Astro to adjust himself._

 

_Backey read the paragraph, screen seemingly growing brighter as he read on. Ah, so that’s wh-what happens… huh…_

“S-SO… SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT WOULD… HAPPEN…?”

 

“I-”

_His voice cracked, and he tried again-_

“I… I-I think so…”

_He let the paragraph close and he quickly turned his head sharply away, covering his screen. Uuuugh..._

 

“W-WELL THEN, UH… THE M-MORE YOU KNOW, I GUESS…?”

_He let out an awkward chuckle, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. He was actually thinking about how it would feel, now that the idea was put into his head… Ugh, God…_

 

_Astro quietly nodded, beeping a high-note. He knew it resembled a note of embarrassment or surprise, and he knew which one too. God, they were literally, Oh my God-_

 

_Being so close to each other at the moment, they could literally just move a bit, and then they’d be… Oh God, don’t think about it, don’t think about it- He didn’t really know what to do or say now, just staring at Astro. ...What now? He didn’t know. He was curious, but… God, the thought of asking to do… that… Jesus…_

 

_Astro, after a long moment, finally looked back to Backey. He stared at his screen, really starting to notice the... ahm, position they were in. It was distracting, even more so than before._

 

_After a moment of thought, another inquiry crossed through his mind._

“...UM… I WAS ALSO WONDERING, WHAT DO THE MULTIPLE HEARTS MEAN…? I SAW THEM ON YOUR SCREEN…”

_I mean, he could probably take a guess as to the meaning, but he wanted to see if Astro actually knew what they meant._

 

_Again, Astro flinched. It was.... touchy, but not nearly as bad as the other topic, right?_

_...No, it was probably just as worse._

_He mustered up his courage and spoke-_

“Uhh… th-the equivalent to multiple hearts on our screen would be… be… Uhmm…”

_He tried again and stammered-_

“H-human… human arousal.”

_He shrugged and had an awkward grin on his face._

 

“A-AH, UM, ALRIGHT…”

_He paused, flustered._

“...I-I’M GUESSING THEY WERE ON MY S-SCREEN TOO AT ONE POINT…?”

_Haha, God, why was he even asking this, the answer was probably yes-_

 

“F-for a little bit..”

_Astro nodded, feeling himself get warm as well._

 

“AH… OK…”

_Yepppp, he thought so. Welp, guess there’s no helping that, huh… Although, it didn't help with making his screen dim down either. In fact, it made it brighter._

_Again, he felt the desire to continue with what they were doing earlier, but now with all that context established, he was nervous to ask again. He just subconsciously had his eyes drop to Astro’s chest. Man, he really should get a better grip of controlling his body…_

 

_Astro didn't notice at first. He was busy thinking. If that was the case... then... huh. It was all so weird to him. To be... to do that... I mean, it's quite early, isn't it? But he thought about it more. Well, they are in a more... dangerous, unpredictable environment. Anything could happen. And what happened now... probably wasn't the craziest. Something bad could have happened, anytime, anywhere, but.... it didn't. It still could, though. Astro didn't like to think about it as he snapped back into reality. He looked down to see what Backey was doing and followed where his gaze was. He felt his body tense and knew he was blushing a lot. Again._

 

_After catching his gaze going down, he forced himself to look back up, hoping that Astro didn’t catch him staring… Ah. He was looking at him. Dang it. He was caught. He laughed awkwardly. Ughhh he wanted to ask, but he was too embarrassed to..._

 

_Astro didn't know how to react to Backey. He kinda got a rushed feeling of... surprise? It was a bit drool to be that, but that's the only way he could describe that._

 

_He sighed. Fuck it, he might as well ask, Astro probably already knows what he’s thinking. Still doesn't make this any less embarrassing though..._

“...U-UH, ASTRO? I… I STILL WANT TO CONTINUE WHAT WE WERE DOING EARLIER… W-WOULD YOU BE ALRIGHT WITH THAT?”

 

_Woah. Wo ah. Okay then, uhh-_

_Astro felt himself immediately grow warm. After all that, he still wanted to...? It was... it was kinda impressive. It must have taken a lot of courage to ask that again._

_He found his voice, but he still stammered-_

“A-Ahm, r-really? O-Oh, I didn’t e-expect yo-you to b-bring that up again. I… I mean..”

_He rubbed his neck and generally any area around it._

 

_He nodded._

“W-WE DON’T HAVE TO IF YOU D-DON’T WANT TO, B-BUT I… I WANT TO.”

_Backey said sheepishly._

 

_Astro couldn't deny that the feeling he had hasn't gone away. In fact, it just grew stronger. And once Backey said that, he really started to remember it. It was so... distracting. Like almost everything they had done. Distracting. From what though? What is more important to do? It was a tough question._

_Astro looked up. He didn't know how to say it, so he nodded, but had a face on that said he was a little confused on it._

 

“A-AH, SO Y-YOU DO? UM… DO YOU WANT ME TO GO BACK TO DOING IT TO YOU, OR DO YOU UH… WANNA DO IT TO ME AGAIN?”

_With all the context established, it felt kinda embarrassing to say that out loud… but oh well. Had to ask some way or another._

 

“I-I-I guess you can choose… I-I-I don’t really lean one w-way or the other.”

_Astro felt himself shiver, and he leaned up and off the wall._

 

_Hmm… that was a bit of a tough decision, buttt he did remember that Astro made him go first last time… it’s only fair he goes first this time._

“HM… WELL, HOW ABOUT YOU GO FIRST THIS TIME? I-I’LL DO IT TO YOU.”

 

_Astro made the face of multiple emotions. Surprised, nervous, excited, etc. He caught his own breath too._

“O-Oh...”

_He swallowed nervously-_

“I-I guess…?”

_He felt himself start to tense up, so he looked at his menu. Quick check, yes... just need to do that. His fans were off... again. Why do they do that? He turned them on again and then quickly checked his temperature. Backey wouldn't mind, right? He was a bit high, 97, but the fans will help. He looked back up, trying to relax._

 

_“I guess”...? Astro seemed a bit unsure, maybe he should check with him just to be sure… He didn’t want him to feel pressured to go first._

“...YOU _ARE_ FINE WITH GOING FIRST, RIGHT? I JUST WANT TO BE SURE, I DON’T WANT TO DO ANYTHING TO MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE…”

 

_Astro looked at Backey. Again he wanted to, but the anxiety at the back of his head was arguing with that. He knew why, too, but.... no. It was fine. Astro sighed and nodded, suddenly excited-_

“Alright, l-let’s… let’s go.”

 

“OK…”

_Backey shifted a bit until he was in a more comfortable position, before hovering his screen over Astro’s chest._

“JUST LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED ME TO STOP, ALRIGHT?”

_After saying that, he pressed his screen to Astro’s chest and kissed it, the electric spark connecting. Here they go._

 

“Mmph!”

_Astro flinched, looking down at Backey quickly. Huh, something still wasn't right. Why aren't I louder? Oh, I know-_

“B-B-Backey, m-my sensory i-isn’t u-up again, s-so I-I g-guess...”

_...Why am I stating this again?_

“I-It’s a-ah, not as powerful…”

 

_Backey lifted his head up, letting the spark fade._

“O-OH, WELL, GO AHEAD AND RAISE IT THEN I GUESS…”

_Backey then just stared up at Astro, waiting for him to do so._

 

_Astro thought for a moment. What if... what if I turned it up... all the way? He wanted to now, mainly because he was curious. Maybe I will.... sh-should I tell Backey? I mean, it'd be kinda weird. ...Maybe not._

_He went into his settings and turned it up. Full. The world buzzed around him, and it felt like the ground he was sitting just raised a bit, as well as the wall. Woah, this was weird. Especially since Backey was there. Astro even felt his temperature, which was kinda warm. Okaayyy, maybe not that much. He turned it down a tiny bit, but it still felt weird. He nodded for Backey to continue._

 

_Once Backey got the go-ahead, he nodded back, then lowered his screen back down to kiss Astro’s chest. Ok, for real this time. Here they go._

 

“AAH-!!”

_Astro had basically jumped forward, gripping onto Backey. His knees slammed together behind Backey, and his toes curled. His back even arched a bit._

 

 **_W o a h._ ** _Backey reeled back, startled by Astro’s intense reaction. He wasn’t even going at a very high intensity…_

“W-WOAH, ARE YOU ALRIGHT??”

 

_He took a shaky breath. Uhhhh, whoops-_

“S-S-Sorry! I… I-I had m-my sen-sensory a-all the way up. I-I di-didn’t know I’d do th-that…”

_He lied his hand on his head. Whoof, that was really intense..._

 

_Ah, that would probably explain it._

“O-OH… IT’S OK, DO YOU NEED A SECOND TO ADJUST YOUR SENSORY AGAIN…?”

 

“Th-that felt great, b-but… I-I think I need to, yeah…”

_He immediately went back and turned them down, a notch or two higher than before. Since his sensory didn't have very specific settings, it was still a bit high. But, Astro wanted to see Backey's reaction. He wanted to see his own. He was curious._

_He relaxed, kinda happy that the world wasn't so rough now.-_

“Alright, this time… I think we’re good.”

 

“ALRIGHT THEN…”

_Welp, third time’s the charm…? Again, he went back down to kiss Astro’s chest. This time, hopefully he’ll just get to continue instead of stopping right afterward..._

 

“H-aA-Ah! O-Oh gosh..”

_Astro looked down to Backey, still slightly tense. He knew the heart on his screen must have returned and become much stronger. He let go of Backey again and put his hand back down to the ground, digging into it._

 

_Astro’s sensory must still be pretty high, huh? This reaction was still a bit much… but at least he’d still be able to increase the intensity without it being too much for Astro. His expression seemed a bit amused as he upped the intensity a bit, just wanting to enjoy Astro’s noises. Hehe..._

 

“Hhhnnnghh~ O-Oh, God- ha-aahh~”

_It was kinda weird to hear his own sounds, which still embarrassed him. How much noise was he making? Shouldn't it be... kinda less? Well, I guess no one is perfect. He was just thankful that HQ made these walls soundproof._

 

_Oh wow… it was weird to hear Astro like this, but at the same time, he loved it. The feeling from earlier returned, sending a wave of heat through his body. He went up for a second to catch his breath, before going back down, putting his hands on Astro’s chest when doing so. Ever so slowly he raised the intensity, bit by bit._

 

“G-hahaaAhhh-! G....Goodness, Backey, y- ...you don’t quit…”

_Astro managed to speak, breathing a bit heavier. He felt a wave of shivers run down him, and it felt so... good. He didn't notice, but one or two more hearts had reappeared on his screen._

 

“MHH…”

_He couldn’t really respond to Astro in the middle of it, so he just kinda made a noise. He felt Astro shiver, and knew he was on the right track. He’d probably look up in a second to take a look at his screen… but for now, he just continued to kiss him, the spark growing brighter._

 

“B-Backey, w-wow-haahahAh~! I-I can’t d-describe th-this feeling, i… it’s s-so.. G-h-hahh-!”

_He suddenly started to clutch Backey with his right hand, accidentally pulling him closer, which cycled into another response from Astro._

 

_Backey pulled back again, eyes half-lidded as he looked up to Astro’s screen. Seeing Astro’s screen with multiple hearts made the feeling he had intensify, and Astro saying his name in that way was kinda adding to it too… Yep, most definitely on the right track. Hmm… they were pretty close to going full-force now… He went back down, really leaning in as he went full-force. This… was sure to get a reaction out of Astro._

 

“A-AaAAHhhH~! B-BaaAackey! Th-that, w-woah, Hahh-”

_He had clutched onto Backey harder, probably getting what would be considered a weak headlock on him. He tried not to, but even Astro knew that he couldn't help it. He started to notice Backey's small reactions when Astro says his name, so in his haze, he wanted more-_

“B-Backey, th-that feels great. I-I love you, Backey. BaaAckey, Backey… Backey…”

_He couldn't really explain what he was doing. He just was curious to see what Backey would do._

 

_Backey shivered as he listened to Astro, heat going through him. Did Astro notice that he liked it when he said his name…? Probably, with how much he’s saying it now… He couldn’t really do much more to intensify the kiss, so he just kinda used his hands to caress Astro wherever he touched. This could get addicting, just doing this._

 

_A new feeling started to flow through Astro. It was strong, as in, it was the only thing he could think about then. It got stronger as he spoke-_

“HaaAAhAHHA~ S-Something’s ha-happeni-”

_Suddenly, his screen, which was filled with hearts, was now flashing different colors. Pink, yellow, and white seemed to be the main ones. His body also shook violently, like he was in the middle of a snowstorm._

“AhhhAHHHAHHAhhH--!”

_He basically screamed. Then, he suddenly flopped against the wall, his screen back to ‘normal’._

 

_Woah woah wooah woah wOAH- Backey pulled back panting, looking up at Astro, wide-eyed. Did he just- Did he… Oh my lord-_

“A-ASTRO…? *pant* A-ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

 

_Astro was panting very heavily. He had a resting but still annoying feeling in his body, but he couldn't be bothered. Astro tried to speak-_

“*pants* I… I… *pants* I-I think so…”

_He looked up, still feeling himself shake._

 

_Backey just stared up at him, stunned by what just happened. His screen was lit brightly, his fans whirring. W-was… was he going to go through that as well?? A-are they still going through to his turn?? Holy shit…_

 

 _He couldn't really think at the moment, and his body felt a little weak. He checked his power. Oh, it's at 20%... wasn't it at, like, 60-ish% when they started this? He tried to think of what happened..... O-_ **_O h._ ** _Oh my God, I just, whoops, ah-ahm-_

_His face went white again, not that it already wasn't very bright-_

“*pants* O-Oh my God, d-did I j… *pants* d-did I just…?”

 

“I-I… I TH-THINK S-SO…?”

_Backey stammered, face going white as well._

 

_Astro started to panic-_

“O-Oh my God, I-I didn’t know that’d happen, I-I’m so sorry! I-I can’t believe I let myself do that, I-I didn’t even try t-to stop it, I-I just-”

_Maybe it was because he was extremely embarrassed, or he was too scared to admit that felt amazing._

 

“N-NO! ASTRO, YOU’RE FINE! YOU DIDN’T KNOW, YOU D-DON’T NEED TO APOLOGIZE!”

_Backey said, trying to get Astro to calm down. I m-mean… it was natural for them, wasn’t it? There w-wouldn’t have been much they could’ve done to stop it if they hadn’t known that could actually happen…_

 

_Astro just nodded, kinda curling up. He was really flustered, mainly because he didn't know how to say what he felt. I mean, that was one of the best feelings he's ever had in his life, and he kinda wanted it again.... but that would never happen.... right? He ignored the thought as he mumbled-_

“I-I mean, i-it wasn’t b-bad, I-I just… i-it f-felt good actually…”

_That was an understatement._

 

“I-I COULD IMAGINE SO…”

_He could tell just from the noises Astro was making… Man, if that’s not even with their sensory at max, wh-what would that be like with their sensory actually at max?? That… that would probably be intense…_

 

_The longing feeling really was pushing him right now. It was begging and nagging at Astro. No, no, I'm not gonna let that happen.... maybe..... hopefully, augh, why do I want that again? Shouldn't that feel like enough?_

“B-Backey… th-that actually felt… am-amazing..”

_He looked down sheepishly._

 

“O-OH… I-I’M… I’M GLAD I COULD UM… MAKE YOU FEEL THAT GOOD…”

_Backey replied. He didn’t really know what to say or do. He… he was curious of how it f-felt, but Jesus, to a-ask for that knowing what would happen… good God… He just nervously fidgeted with his hands._

 

_Astro didn't know what else to say, so he just looked at Backey. It was strange that they've come to this, but it made Astro realize something. If they have a connection this strong, what could break it? It's nothing. Not even the demons in his head. ....He hoped. They've left for now, but Astro knew they weren't gone. It's like they left their mark wherever they've been._

 

_Backey felt like they weren’t really finished with what they were doing, but he had no idea how to ask again… It flustered him just thinking about Astro doing that to him. W-would Astro be ok with continuing?? Maybe, but it was… a bit too embarrassing to ask for now. M-maybe Astro will just suggest it himself…? He stared back at Astro, before stammering,_

“S-SO… UM… W-WHAT N-NOW…?”

 

“I have no clue…”

_He said honestly, looking at Backey with a calculating gaze. Who knew what he was thinking about._

 

_Backey internally groaned. Ughhh God, he was gonna have to suggest it, wasn’t he?? Astro wasn’t a mind reader. B-but… question is, will he be able to actually do that?_

“UM… WELL, I G-GUESS WE COULD… U-UH… YOU… UM…”

_Dear lord, he can’t speak..._

 

_Astro looked confused, and asked-_

“Me… what?”

_He looked confused, and a tiny bit amused._

 

“C-COULD YOU… UH, W-WOULD YOU BE UM, ALRIGHT WITH… UHHH…”

_Why can’t he just say it?! It’s not that hard, jeez… He just seemed to get continuously flustered as he attempted to ask Astro his question._

 

_Astro started to get the faintest clue to what Backey was asking, but he kept quiet, watching and waiting patiently for Backey to say what he wanted. To try and help him, and to calm himself even, he put a hand and Backey's shoulder and patted it affectionately._

 

_Astro’s shoulder pat calmed Backey a bit, although it did fluster him a little too. He sighed. Ughhh just spit it out already…_

“W-WOULD… WOULD YOU BE ALRIGHT WITH… DOING WHAT WE WERE DOING A MOMENT AGO… BUT WITH M-ME THIS TIME…? I-IT’S MY TURN, R-RIGHT?”

_His voice seemed to get quieter as he asked his question, the further along he was it quieted to a mumble. His screen was bright, and he couldn’t really look Astro in the eye. Well, he said it, he just had to hope that Astro heard him… he doesn’t know if he could say that again…_

 

_Astro was... a bit surprised, but at the same time, couldn't blame him. Astro's reaction must have been quite the sight. But, he didn't show much of a reaction, just an eyebrow-raise, really._

“I… I guess so, Backey, if you really want to that badly.”

_There was an obvious playful note in his voice._

 

_Backey just slowly nodded, too flustered to say anything to that. He… he did want to. Really badly._

 

_Astro shifted a bit, placing his hands on Backey's chest. He didn't know what his face looked like, but the feeling he had inside him was powerful. It wasn't a bad voice, but it commanded him, telling Astro everything to do. He liked it._

“Ready?”

_He asked, scooting Backey a bit closer to him. The fact that Backey was still on him had faded into mist._

 

_Backey went into his settings to turn up his sensory to about where he guessed Astro turned his up to. Once he was done, he nodded._

“R-READY.”

 

_Astro kinda stared at Backey, still having his hands on Backey's chest. Was he going to go through with his plan? I mean, it'd be a little annoying for Backey if he's all prepared and..... no, it's perfect. It'll be good._

_He relaxed his eyelids... then he smooched Backey right on his figurative lips. The spark was already quite strong, which was a bit of a surprise. Astro moved his hand that was on Backey's shoulder went to his head, caressing it smoothly._

 

“MMPH-?!”

_Backey had been preparing himself for Astro kissing his chest, not his face. He couldn’t help but let out a noise of surprise. Although, it wasn’t really an unpleasant surprise, he just wasn’t really expecting that… which was what a surprise was. Go figure. Once the initial surprise of it passed over, he kissed back, making the spark stronger. He practically melted into Astro’s touch._

 

“Mhh, mhmhm~”

_Astro laughed while they kissed, closing his eyes and making the kiss stronger. His other hand rubbed on Backey's chest, knowing it would feel quite interesting._

 

“MMH~”

_Backey moaned into the kiss, shivering as the familiar wave of heat went through him. Astro’s touches combined with the kiss getting stronger was a bit stimulating. He closed his eyes as well, just wanting to experience the sensations and listen to Astro._

 

_Astro looked like he was concentrating, making the spark even more aggressive than when they kissed last time. He wrapped his hand around the back of Backey's head. Maybe it was to satisfy himself, too, but he was being a little.... forceful._

 

_As the kiss got more aggressive, the heart quickly reappeared on Backey’s screen, growing strong. It was a little intense, but Backey knew this was only the beginning. His noises were mostly contained, muffled since he was kissing Astro. He’d probably be a lot louder if that wasn’t the case…_

 

_He let it continue for a second, then let himself draw back to catch his breath. A heart had appeared on his screen as well, but he couldn't notice. He caught his breath a bit longer, knowing he'd need it for what he was going to do next._

 

_Backey also caught his breath, panting a bit. He let his eyes open, half-lidded as he stared up at Astro. He noticed the heart, and ‘smiled’. Heh… He tried to prepare himself for whatever Astro was going to do next, body tensing up a little, although he couldn’t really predict what he would do._

 

_Astro glanced at Backey, then he went back, this time going to Backey's chest. He watched as the now familiar blue spark sizzled under his screen._

 

“H-HAAH~!”

_Not being as prepared for it as before, it was hard for him to muffle his noise at all like he did last time. Although, even if Astro had done this first, he probably would have reacted about the same way. It… it f-felt really nice… The heart on his screen started to shake a little bit._

 

_Astro felt a shiver run along his spine, and it felt chilling. Astro let his gaze flick up to Backey, watching the heart shudder like he did. He focused back down and upped the intensity a bit, putting both of his hands on Backey's chest._

 

“HNNHH~ A-ASTRO- HHHAH~”

_Backey didn’t really make any attempt to contain his sounds, not that he’d be able to anyway. It felt too intense to do so, and there wasn’t really any reason to muffle himself. He just let Astro hear his sounds like Astro did for him. It felt too good to care about how embarrassing the noises might be._

 

_Astro felt his screen brighten when Backey did that. He wondered how Backey reacted to his own noises, but before he got too distracted, he focused back on what he was doing. Astro didn't realize his hands had slid down Backey's body and down to his padded torso, caressing it like his head._

 

“H-HAHH~ G-GOD, TH-THAT FEELS- HNGHH… AMAZING…”

_Everywhere that Astro touched sent shivers down his spine, but his hands going down his body felt especially good… although, there were probably other things that Astro could do to get more of a reaction. He was like putty in Astro’s hands…_

 

_Astro nodded, cranking up the intensity again and slightly rotating his head. His hands still unconsciously trailed down Backey until they went around his hips and onto his thighs. They stayed there for a moment, rubbing into them gently._

 

“HHAAhAHAAA~!”

_The stimulation of Astro’s touches, as well as the intensity of the kiss, definitely affected Backey. Multiple hearts were on his screen again, and he was shivering, trembling under Astro’s touch. It was hard for him to really think._

 

_Woah. Guess Backey was enjoying this. Hm... why not make it even better? He went full power, letting that blue return. He opened his eyes to find that there were even multiple sparks, jumping around Backey's chest. Wow, guess I'm good at this? His hands regained some life and went back to Backey's torso, hugging it with his larger hands._

“MMmmmhh~”

_He moaned a bit, feeling his emotions swerve and swim around inside of himself._

 

“AHhHHHHHHAH~ A-ASTRO, O-OH MY G-GOD- HAHHH~”

_The feeling was intense, to say the least. Backey clutched onto Astro, gripping his torso a bit as well._

“A-ASTRO, I-I… I LOVE Y-YOU- HAHH- SO MUCH-”

_All he could think about was Astro. Nothing else. Just him._

 

_Astro paused for a moment, slightly surprised. He couldn't really remember what he said, but he knew it wasn't like that. He continued at a slightly lower intensity to listen to Backey, watching him curiously. He had more hearts, oh boy..._

 

“HHAAAAAH~ A-ASTRO, I LOVE Y-YOU, I LOVEE YOU, I-”

_He just kept repeating this phrase, over and over again, like a broken record. He was shivering violently, not really aware of anything he was saying, the sensations distracting him too much from himself. A new feeling was starting to build up. He was on the verge of something… just a little more would push him over the edge._

 

_Astro felt his screen light up at this. The heat in his body grew too, but this is no time to check his temperature. His hands went back down to Backey's thighs, rubbing up and down slowly. He didn't know what he was doing, and nothing was stopping him, either. He really did his best to please Backey, pressing his screen closer to Backey's chest and causing the spark to zap around._

 

_Suddenly the new feeling started to flow through Backey, growing stronger by the second._

“HAHHHHHHHHAHHHhAHH~ A-ASTRO, I TH-THINK I’M-”

_Whatever he was going to say was cut off, as his screen, filled to the brim with hearts, suddenly started to flash different colors like Astro’s did before. The colors alternated between many different ones, but pink, white, and purple popped up the most. He shook, a very warm and pleasurable feeling surrounding him._

“AHaHAAhAAAAAAAAAH-!”

_He screamed, similar to Astro, clutching onto him very tightly. Then, after a second, he flopped into Astro, his screen going back to its regular color. He panted heavily._

 

 **_Oh, God._ ** _Astro jumped back to look at his lover, looking at his reaction. It surprised him to watch the colors flash on his screen, and he covered his own because of how intense it was. He felt his screen. Backey's tight grip kinda hurt, especially the one digging into his shoulder, but he couldn't care less._

“G-Goodness, Backey, are you good?”

_He felt his breath catch up to him, and he took a gulp of air in. Again, forgot to breathe._

 

_Backey loosened his grip a bit, still panting heavily. Jesus, that took a lot out of you… He remembered his power percentage being way higher before they did this… He felt exhausted, but that… that feeling was probably the best feeling he’d ever had. Was this what Astro felt like…? It must’ve been. After catching his breath a little, he tried to respond._

“Y-YES… *pants* I-I’M GOOD… *pants*”

_He would say more, but he paused to try and breathe a bit._

 

_Astro realized where his hands were and quickly took them off, feeling his screen light up again. It was kinda an annoying feeling, to be honest. He looked at Backey, curious to see what he'd say next. While he waited, he really thought about the past hour and thirty minutes. Well, that happened. But... Astro wasn't really embarrassed. Like, he didn't.. regret anything, in fact, he kinda... kinda was glad they did that. He wondered if they'd continue...._

 

_After he calmed his breathing a bit more, he continued._

“TH-THAT… THAT FELT A-AMAZING, ASTRO. TH-THANK YOU…”

_He leaned into Astro, resting his head on his chest. That was more than “amazing”... He wished he could describe it better… but hopefully Astro already understood. He did go through the same thing before Backey did after all._

 

_Astro knew he probably looked really flustered. Guess what, he was._

“O-Oh, um… y-you’re welcome… Backey..”

_His hand somehow found its way in Backey's, and it rubbed his knuckle._

 

_Backey’s expression seemed happy, but he was also very tired. He sighed, content._

“I LOVE YOU, ASTRO…”

_He looked up to stare at Astro, a soft, loving look on his face now._

 

_Astro looked into Backey's screen, feeling all of his worried emotions fall away. A warm-colored, autumn-red heart appeared on his screen, and he felt himself smile._

“I love you too, Backey, and I know we’re inseparable.”

_He slowly wrapped Backey in an embrace, wrapping his arms around Backey's torso._

 

_Backey returned his embrace, arms wrapped tightly but comfortably around Astro. His screen mirrored Astro’s, his heart a purple color._

“I DO TOO ASTRO… I DO TOO…”

_Backey beeped a happy note, then went quiet as he savored Astro’s embrace, thinking about what happened. This definitely brought them closer together, not that they weren’t already close before… He didn’t regret a second of it._


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's playing who in this chapter:  
> Astro, Emmet, Tom - Dyno  
> Backey, Baby - Me
> 
> Oh, btw, here's some heart charts with like different meanings:  
> Astro - https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/561681305436160011/580190668174131240/Heart_Chart_Astro.jpg  
> Backey - https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/561681305436160011/580542357317877771/backey_heart_chart.png?width=1202&height=365
> 
> The screen color kinda just is a lighter version of the heart color, it kinda matches it  
> Oh yeah, look forward to an expressions sheet as well, it'll be a collab between me and dyno :3
> 
> Also, side note- one of Astro's nightmares gets a little violent, so just a bit of warning there.

_Despite what happened that day, Astro still had a rough night. He went to his charging station, ignoring the questions from the crewmembers and going to sleep. It was fine until he suddenly had a nightmare. Now, he knew that AI almost never had nightmares, so he paid attention to it curiously._

_He was in the shuttle, which was completely dark. The lights didn't even work anyway, so there was no point when he tried to turn it on. But, he was surprised to find one light turn on, and Backey was under it._

_"ASTRO, I LOVE YOU."_

_Astro felt a warm feeling flow through him, and he tried to say the same thing, but his voice wouldn't work. He decided to ignore this and he just smiled._

_"I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, ASTRO. LET ME SHOW YOU!"_

_...What?_

_What did he want to show me?_

_Astro walked closer to Backey. He got a good look at his face and was... slightly unsettled. He didn't move his head, but Backey's cameras trained on Astro with such an intensity, it was like he saw Astro commit a murder._

_"LET ME SHOW YOU, ASTRO!" Backey said again, forcing Astro to take his hand. They ran through the shuttle wall into the sandy environment. Astro covered his screen as some sand hit his screen. Apparently, they were in a sandstorm. He was surprised he could keep up with Backey, and that Backey was running so fast, but he didn't question it._

_He was too curious to see what Backey was going to show him._

_They suddenly halted in front of one of the towers, specifically the moon tower. It made Astro grow nervous, and the edges of his screen went dark. He looked down to Backey._

_"LET ME SHOW YOU," Backey whispered, letting go of Astro's hand. He stared at him with the same intensity, looking a little angry. Astro wanted to ask what was wrong, but his ability to speak seemed to disappear._

_Suddenly, Backey started whispering, "IT'LL BE FUN. LET ME SHOW YOU. I LOVE YOU, ASTRO. I LOVE YOU."_

_This continued, and Astro glanced around nervously, although he couldn't see much in the storm. He was about to leave when Backey started laughing. It was silent and... maniacal. Astro turned to go, but Backey suddenly shoved him into the towers-_

**_"ENJOY, ASSHOLE!"_ **

_That wasn't Backey's voice._

_It was familiar, though._

_He felt dark power envelop him as he dived into the tower, somehow in some sort of void. He glanced around in a panic, trying to find an escape. The void seemed to growl, and he swore he heard... distressed... cow noises?_

_Suddenly, something jumped at him._

_And he woke up._

_He felt himself gasping for air, still in the charging station. What... what was that?_

 

_Backey was sound asleep, still charging. He couldn’t really be aware of anything outside of maybe his dreams, so Astro would probably have to wake him up if he wanted Backey right now._

 

_Astro felt his gaze immediately fix to Backey, who was on the other side of the room. He wanted to get up and talk to him, but everybody else was asleep too, and it'd be against his will to accidentally make the crew wake up, so he stayed there, trying to go to sleep. Thankfully, he eventually did, but he couldn't keep that to himself. No, he'd have to tell someone, and he knew who too._

 

* * *

 

_The next morning, Backey woke up relatively early, feeling energized. Finally, a good night’s sleep after two days of feeling tired. He needed it, especially after the events that occurred yesterday. He checked his internal clock, and it would be around 7 AM on Earth. He yawned quietly as to not disturb those who were still sleeping, then made his body unplug itself and walk over to put his head back where it goes. Ah, there we go. He stretched and wondered what would happen today._

 

_Astro, back asleep soundly, didn't hear anything. He made the softest snoring sound as his body shifted slightly. It was a little weird when the head made the noise, but it was on the other side of the room._

 

_Backey looked over to Astro fondly. He remembered dreaming of Astro last night, although he couldn’t really remember the dream that well… It was a nice dream though. He wondered to himself if he should wake Astro up… Should he? He didn’t want to prevent Astro from charging all the way… He’ll wait until he wakes up himself probably. He looked around. Looks like he’s the only one awake at the moment… He wondered what he could do while he waited. Clean? I mean, it looked fine in here to him… so maybe not?_

_What else to do… Hm… Ah! Maybe he could draw? He remembered they actually had at least a few art supplies on board… He quietly went down to the lower part of the shuttle, remembering that they were stored in there. He took a pencil, a box of crayons, and a few pieces of paper, before carrying them back to the main room. He sat down and put a paper against the wall as a surface to start drawing on. Might as well try and work on improving your art while you wait on people to wake up, he guessed._

_He started to doodle a little Astro in the corner because of course he would. Astro was very fun for him to draw… although, he might be a little bit biased. ...Ok, yeah, he was very biased, obviously._

_Meanwhile, a certain redhead started to wake up. He woke up relatively early, usually to go exercise to keep in shape, or do anything really. He was a bit of an early bird. Baby looked over to Backey curiously, noticing he was already up… Oh, it looks like he’s drawing. He leaned over curiously to see what he was drawing. Heheh, looks like he’s drawing Astro. He was happy for the two of them, they seemed to be very close already. He cleared his throat to get Backey’s attention._

“Um… g’mornin’ Backey. Looks like a nice drawing you’ve got there…”

“AH-!”

_Backey hadn’t really noticed Baby come up behind him, so when he spoke it startled him a bit._

“O-OH, UM, GOOD MORNING BABY… A-AND THANKS…”

_He was a little embarrassed by being complimented on his art, but he appreciated it._

“Yer welcome… um, could I have a piece of paper and a crayon or two? I’d kinda like to draw too…”

“A-AH, SURE, HERE-”

_Backey gave Baby a piece of paper and let Baby pick out some crayons. He took the orange, green, and yellow ones._

“Thanks!”

“ANYTIME, BABY…”

_He watched Baby smile, and walk back to his seat with the art supplies he took. Well, that conversation was interesting._

 

_Backey's surprised noise was the thing that woke Astro up, and his screen flickered awake slowly, coming to life. His body shifted weight a second and turned a bit, probably waking up like the head. Astro mumbled in confusion and glanced around a bit, seeing Backey on the floor close to him. He saw the art supplies, and it confused him a bit. Crayons, paper, pencil... huh, weird. He glanced down to Backey's hands and saw the rough sketch of himself. In his haze, he couldn't tell if it was Backey or him, but he watched it curiously._

 

_Backey hadn’t noticed Astro had woken up, now focused back on his drawing. He continued to draw Astro, adding details as he went. What originally was going to be a small doodle was turning into an actual drawing, it seemed like. It looked like a half-body drawing. He was drawing Astro in some sort of pose with his hand behind his head, kinda like it would be if you were embarrassed or something. Although, he was drawing Astro with a happy expression, if a bit flustered. Once he was done with just drawing Astro, he doodled some hearts around him. It seems like no drawing of Astro he did was complete without some hearts, heh._

 

_Astro saw the picture come together, and he felt himself start to blush, which made his screen light up, which means Backey will probably notice. But, who cares? Astro watched his own expression and looked at it. Huh, flustered was an.... interesting facial expression to go with. He wondered if that was the facial expression that Backey saw the most. Probably. Ugh._

 

_Backey did notice Astro’s screen light up in the corner of his eye and turned to look at him. Ah! Astro’s up!_

“OH, GOOD MORNING ASTRO! I HADN’T NOTICED YOU WOKE UP, SORRY IF I WOKE YOU UP… I’VE JUST BEEN DRAWING.”

 

“U-uhm, yeh… u-uh… th-that’s a nice... drawing you got there…”

_He felt himself glow with delight. Look how good it is! How could he do that?_

_His voice was a bit slurred from being asleep, and it was a little quiet when coming out of his speakers._

 

“O-OH, HEHE, THANKS…”

_Another compliment. He blushed a bit, flattered._

“I FIGURED I’D DRAW YOU TO START OFF WITH… YOU’RE FUN TO DRAW. A-AT LEAST TO ME…”

 

_Astro didn't know whether to take that as a general compliment, or it's because he's Backey's boyfriend... Hm... boyfriend._

_He smiled with his eyes as best as he could at Backey, then his body sprung to life and came over to Astro, stepping lightly over Backey's smaller body and grabbing the head and placing back on the body. Astro stretched like Backey, then moved back to watch him curiously._

 

_Hm, alright, guess he’ll start another drawing…? He thought for a moment, then started on the drawing, sketching out him and Astro holding hands, because why not. Maybe after he was done drawing this, he’d ask Astro if he wanted him to draw anything? Maybe, who knows. He decided to continue talking._

“HM… DID YOU HAVE A NICE REST? I DID, MY DREAM WAS ACTUALLY KIND OF NICE…”

 

_Once Backey said that, memories of his nightmare flooded back to him. He internally cringed, and he didn't know if he wanted to explain it in front of Crewmate Bronco. He answered Backey's question, though-_

“Yeah, I got a decent amount of rest, my battery isn’t as high as it could be, but not below required levels either. Do... do you remember your dream?”

_He asked curiously, glancing down to look at Backey's drawing. He was curious about how his fingers could sketch something like this up so quickly. Well, he was an AI..._

 

_Ah, that was a good question… He wished he remembered his dream a bit better…_

“A LITTLE BIT, NOT MUCH THOUGH… IT WAS A HAPPY DREAM, AND I KNOW YOU WERE IN IT, AT LEAST.”

_He continued to draw, erasing the sketch lines, cleaning up the drawing a bit._

 

_For some reason, this made Astro's heart flutter. Your dreams usually indicate a message, or it is the thing you’re thinking about the most, and are put in even the unconscious world. He wished he could say the same about his "dream", but it wasn't very... happy._

“Heheh, th-that’s neat…”

_He sat down beside Backey, scrunching up his legs in a crossed position, as he watched Backey work his little new magic._

 

_Backey added a heart in between him and Astro. They both looked happy as they held each other’s hand. Once he thought that the lines looked good enough, he went back to the crayons and took a few to color with lightly. You had to be careful with crayons, they can make or break a drawing._

“Y-YEAH… I WOULD TELL YOU MORE ABOUT THE DREAM, BUT THAT’S ABOUT ALL I REMEMBER ABOUT IT. DREAMS ARE WEIRD, EITHER YOU REMEMBER THEM VIVIDLY, YOU REMEMBER BITS AND PIECES, OR YOU JUST DON’T REMEMBER THEM AT ALL…”

 

“Y-yeah, sometimes you can just remember every single dream you’ve had in one night, recite them like you’re reading a script, then forget them in a couple of days… I-It's very interesting, really...”

_Astro nodded, watching Backey color. The crayon colors weren't perfect, but they would definitely do if you know how to use them. Somehow, Backey does._

 

“YEAH, IT REALLY IS… A LOT OF YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS THOUGHTS APPEAR IN YOUR DREAMS, IT MAKES ME KINDA WISH I HAD A WAY TO INTERPRET THEM SOMETIMES…”

_It was interesting that AI even had dreams… He guessed it was HQ working their magic again. He continued to carefully color what he was drawing._

“OH, BY THE WAY, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT ME TO DRAW ONCE I’M FINISHED WITH THIS?”

 

_Astro thought for a moment. ....No, not at all. I mean, he could think of a million things in a second, but nothing he thought was interesting. The only thing he could think of would be his nightmare, and he didn't want that to come to life in the form of art._

_Astro turned to Backey and simply shook his head, not really knowing how else to respond. He decided to continue on the dream subject-_

“Interpreting dreams might be one of the most challenging things a person could do. I mean, yes, there were people who could do that, but they really could never be… fully accurate…”

 

_Ah alright... well that’s fine, he can just continue to draw whatever comes to mind, he doesn’t need suggestions… Although he would’ve liked to draw something for Astro that he wanted. Oh well. He simply nodded, finishing up with coloring. The drawing wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t half-bad either. He thought it looked decent, and let himself be proud of it._

“YEAH… GUESS SOMETIMES WE JUST HAVE TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES WITH THEM. THE MIND DOES COME UP WITH SOME INTERESTING STUFF AT TIMES… USUALLY IT’S TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING, BUT THE MESSAGE SOMETIMES ISN’T THAT CLEAR. IT’S WEIRD…”

 

“Yeah, it really does, or it’s reflecting your current mood in your life.”

_Dreams were nice.... if you're feeling nice, that is._

_He looked at Backey's picture, and a little heart immediately appeared on his screen. Only Backey could ever do something like that._

 

“MHM… HEH, GUESS I’M HAPPY THEN…”

_He glanced to Astro’s screen and saw the heart. He chuckled softly._

“YOU CAN KEEP THIS DRAWING PAGE IF YOU’D LIKE TO, ASTRO.”

 

_Astro smiled and took it gratefully, looking over the picture. The anatomy wasn't very off, and the sketchy details were pleasing to his cameras. He wondered how long Backey had been keeping this talent..._

_He wished he had a safe place to store it, but sadly, no place on this rusty shuttle is safe. So, he simply kept it in his robotic hand, making sure he was gentle enough as to not mess up the smooth paper._

“I’m glad you’re happy.”

_Astro looked back down and continued to watch Backey draw. It was mesmerizing._

 

_Backey took another sheet of paper and started to doodle some more. It felt a little weird having someone watch him draw, but it didn’t bother him that much. He was currently working on another drawing of Astro, although the gimmick this time was that he was trying to make the drawing entirely out of hearts. Just trying to push himself and try and make something cool._

“YEAH… I’M PRETTY SURE IT’S BECAUSE OF YOU. BECAUSE… YOU MAKE ME HAPPY…”

_A heart appeared on his screen as he drew._

 

_Astro flinched and glanced away, a heart quickly appearing on his screen too. He didn't even notice Captain Ellis sleepily looking at them with a small smile on his face._

“I-I’m glad...”

_Again, probably from watching Backey draw, he started to create little swirly doodles on the floor. Wow, this place could use a good scrubbing._

 

_Backey just nodded. He glanced over at Astro again, noticing him drawing in the dust on the floor._

“I STILL HAVE SOME PAPER IF YOU WANNA DRAW TOO, YOU KNOW.”

_To be honest, he’d love to see any drawing that Astro would make._

 

_Y'know what? What does Astro have to lose? Maybe a bit of his time, but the crew wasn't really fully awake yet, so, Astro decided to have a go at it._

“Yeah, sure, why not? Also, could you hand me that navy blue crayon?”

_He asked for a few more crayons. The orange, the sky blue, the gray, and the beige was what he wanted._

 

_Backey nodded and gave Astro the crayons he asked for, as well as a piece of paper. The drawing he was working on seemed to look nice so far, but it was a bit time consuming because of all the hearts he had to draw. He looked over to Astro, curious to see what he would draw._

 

_Astro tentatively took the tiny dark-blue crayon on his large hand, and he started to draw really small swirls. They were very symmetrical, which probably was going to be pleasing to look at._

 

_The symmetrical nature of Astro’s drawing really was pleasing and a bit mesmerizing to look at. He still worked on his own drawing, but he kept looking over to Astro’s._

 

_It was taking a while for Astro to get his "background" finished, and he wasn't even a third of the way done because of how small and close the spirals had to be. He listened to the creaking and buzzing of the shuttle, feeling the sun rise up and bathe his back. For some reason, that brought back a bad feeling._

 

_Oh wow, he’s going really detailed with his… Backey was about halfway done with his drawing. It was a little difficult to do this, as he’s more used to drawing things faster, but he wanted to step outside of his comfort zone. He just hoped the end result would be good._

 

_Astro felt his wrist tighten, so he decided to take a break about thirty minutes in. Everybody was awake now, though the crew wasn't bustling about._

_He got about half-way through it before he had to stretch his wrists._

 

_Backey decided to take a break too, seeing as his hands were getting a bit tired of drawing. He was determined to finish it though. He was about three-fourths of the way into his drawing. Although, he still had to color it after this... He looked closer at Astro’s drawing since he was on a break._

“IT LOOKS NICE SO FAR… VERY SYMMETRICAL.”

_So many swirls…_

 

“Hm, yeah, I guess I just wanted it to look nice, I’ll probably still work on it.”

_He knew he had work to do, but he really just wanted it to relax. Isn't Sunday the equivalent to the calmest day on Earth?_

_He looked back to the drawing. Hm, back to work._

 

_Backey did a few stretches before going back to his own drawing. Despite this being time consuming, it still was pretty fun. After all, Astro and hearts were his favorite things to draw, so combining them? Genius._

 

_Astro sighed, starting to get a bit bored. Yeah, swirls were fun to make, but they could get a bit repetitive. Heh._

_He looked over to see what Backey was doing. Drawing. Who would have thought. He went back to his piece and continued to draw._

 

_One more heart andddd… finished. Well, with the lines anyway. If he wanted to color it, he’d still have to do that. He thought it looked pretty neat so far… An Astro drawn entirely out of hearts was definitely an interesting concept. Maybe some pinks and purples would be nice to color it with... He leaned over to grab the pink and purple crayons. The coloring should go a lot faster than drawing all those hearts._

 

_Astro looked over to Backey's piece. Again, it was strangely accurate, and the hearts were shaped just right to look correct. It made Astro feel good, but it also made his work seem a bit... bland. He huffed and went back to it, making the swirls faster._

 

_Backey used the pink for the lighter parts and the purple for the darker parts. He was going a lot quicker now, and would probably be done pretty soon. Coloring usually doesn’t take as long as lining a drawing. After he’s finished he’s probably gonna just watch Astro draw… He’s curious to see the end result of Astro’s drawing._

 

_Astro knew that Backey was done, and he was almost done. He started to get frustrated, drawing a bit faster. He had a line to go, and then-_

_Snap._

_His crayon had broke. He looked at it then squeezed it again in frustration, causing it to crumble in his hand. He groaned and slapped his forehead._

 

_Backey had indeed finished. He sighed. Whew, finally done. Took him long enough. However, he heard the snap and Astro groan beside him, and looked over to Astro._

“WHAT’S WRONG, ASTRO-”

_He started to say, but then saw the now crumbled crayon in Astro’s hand._

“OH… UM, WE PROBABLY HAVE A SPARE OF THAT CRAYON, IF YOU’D LIKE ME TO GET FOR YOU, ASTRO.”

_He wondered to himself how Astro’s crayon ended up like that. Was it because he was rushing his drawing…?_

 

_Astro glanced over to him, his screen blazing red. But, he sighed and his screen faded in color a bit. Backey's pureness was all he needed._

“Yeah, I... I guess you could grab that.”

_He glanced back to his artwork, which was now taking shape. It was the silhouette of a person, either him or Backey, but it was obvious who it was._

 

_Backey nodded, rummaging around for a spare of the crayon Astro broke before handing it to him._

“HERE YOU GO…”

_Backey paused for a second, before adding on,_

“AND UM… KNOW YOU DON’T HAVE TO RUSH ASTRO. ART TAKES TIME.”

_He looked over to Astro’s drawing now, seeing he’d made a lot of progress. Oh, is that a drawing of… him?_

 

_Astro sighed and nodded, going back to his work. He was arguing with himself that he could be doing something better, like working, but no, he was doodling like a five-year-old. Well, no one was saying anything, so I guess they didn't care. He decided to focus on his work._

_.....And... done! Well, with the first layer. he grabbed the orange and lightly started to draw some swirls, going slower this time._

 

_Backey just continued to watch Astro draw, somewhat entranced. ...He kinda wanted to lean on Astro’s shoulder, but he didn’t want to accidentally mess him up if he leaned on him out of nowhere._

“...CAN I LEAN ON YOU WHILE YOU DRAW?”

_Might as well ask so Astro knew it was coming if he said yes. I mean, he’d probably be fine with it, but it never hurt to be sure._

 

_Astro looked over to Backey, feeling the front of his screen warm up. He had to admit, the image of Backey leaning on Astro brought some positive feelings to him, but he didn't know what the crew would think. They seem fine with them, but it still made him wonder... Huh, guess it's just him. He decided to go with the flow._

“Eh-heh, uh… sure, Backey.”

_He felt his arm itch with anticipation, so he rolled his shoulder a bit. Hopefully, it was inviting enough._

 

_Backey gladly took the invitation, nuzzling up to Astro. He looked back to Astro’s drawing, curiously watching as he drew. It looked really neat..._

 

_Astro felt himself tense up as Backey made himself comfortable on his side. He relaxed his writing arm and drew lightly, the piece going much faster than it did before._

_He couldn't tell, but a warmly lit pink heart appeared on his screen, the color reflecting off of the smooth yet messy floor beneath them._

 

_Backey’s own screen had a heart appear on it as well, a gentle purple color. He wasn’t really looking at Astro’s screen, but he could see the pink lighting reflected on the floor. Heheh… It felt nice and to lean up to him like this while he was doing his own thing. In the back of his head, he also wondered what the crew thought when they saw him and Astro like this. I mean, they hadn’t really said anything about it, so they probably thought it was fine._

 

_Astro continued to color, watching his piece slowly come together. It was almost 8:30 Earth time, and he had gotten to the sky blue coloring what appeared to be a screen. It was cool how he shaded, getting the swirls darker by pressing down on the crayon, accidentally breaking a few but still using them, and getting new ones out of the box. It was slowly yet surely coming together. He saw Emmet out of the corner of his screen glance at them a few times, either smiling or shaking his head with a smile. Astro didn't really know what it meant._

 

_Backey made a few notes in his head, wanting to try out some of the techniques Astro was using some other time. Astro had to give himself a bit of credit, these types of swirl drawings were cool. Seeing the sky blue on the screen basically confirmed for him that Astro was drawing him, which made his screen brighten slightly. It was sweet of him to do this…_

_Backey wasn’t really that aware of it, but he kinda had the feeling they were being watched, or rather, looked at occasionally… probably by some of the crewmembers._

 

_Ah, getting closer! He beeped in satisfaction, and then went over to grab the gray crayon._

 

_Backey let out a quiet beep as well, happy that Astro was getting closer to completing his drawing. He liked just hearing the little sounds that Astro made, it was cute._

 

_The colors weren't very accurate, but it was all Astro got with some brand-made twenty-five pack of crayons. Oh well. He colored Backey some more, adding a few minor details, like his name branded into the side of his upper arm. He was glad he could get a lot of the details._

_Astro suddenly thought of something. He turned around and, hopefully without the crew or Backey looking, grabbed the magenta. Hehe._

 

_Backey noticed Astro go to take yet another crayon out of the box, but he didn’t really make much note of it. He didn’t see what color it was either. He’d probably notice once Astro started coloring with it though._

 

_The piece was making sense now. It was a front picture of Backey, sitting like he was getting a school picture, but he had a sweet look on his face. It was like he was just bombarded with compliments, or had received a gift. Well, that was Astro's knowledge of feelings like that. He didn't know why, but he just decided to do that. He started to add the magenta, creating little swirls in Backey's screen. They started to form a heart._

 

_Once he started to see the heart, Backey blushed a bit. Ehehe… Now that Astro was a bit further into the drawing, he could see all the little details that were put into the drawing… There was lots of attention to detail. He found the look that was put on his face was interesting… He wondered if he gave that look to Astro a lot._

 

_Ah, he was so close to done! He added a few minor details, like lighter swirls the closer it got to the left side of the paper. Guess that was where a light source was._

_And.... done! He slapped down the crayon, accidentally breaking it again, and he held up the piece of paper to look at it. His face looked very pleased._

 

_Backey looked to see Astro’s finished drawing and noticed how pleased Astro seemed to be with it. ...It was so good!!_

“THAT LOOKS REALLY NICE, ASTRO!! I LOVE IT, YOU DID A GOOD JOB!”

_Backey grinned. Seems like Astro was hiding an artistic talent as well._

 

_Backey's enthusiasm surprised Astro, making him flinch a bit. He looked to Backey, then back to his work. He held it out in front of Backey._

“Here, to be frank, it seems like you enjoy this more than I do, you can have it.”

_Astro gave a warm look on his face, and his heart glowed as well._

 

“THANKS, ASTRO!”

_Backey took it gently out of Astro’s hand with a smile, going to look at it closer, appreciating the little details… Hm… Maybe he can keep it by his charging station? That’s the only place he can think of besides just holding it._

 

_Astro watched Backey's expression, seeing him so happy, so excited..... it saddened him for some reason. He looked down to all the crayons he had snapped and then sighed. Hm, maybe all that tedious coloring tuckered him tired. Say that ten times fast._

_He swiped them into his hand, seeing all the different colors fall into the middle of his hand. Backey's colors._

 

_After looking at the drawing enough to satisfy himself, he walked over to his charging station to carefully place it so that it didn’t crumple or anything. Once he was satisfied with where it was, he beeped happily to himself before walking back over to Astro. Hm… it’d probably just be best to put the crayons and stuff away. If any of the crew still wanted them they could just say so. He walked over to Baby, who seemed to have finished his drawing as well. It looked like a drawing of the crew, including Baby himself, each in their respective colors. Huh… interesting._

“ARE YOU DONE WITH THE CRAYONS YOU’RE USING? BECAUSE, I THINK I’M GONNA PUT THEM AWAY SOON…”

_“Yup, I’m done. Here-”_

_Baby placed the crayons he used in Backey’s hand. They didn’t seem to be broken or anything… Baby must’ve been gentle when drawing his picture, not particularly in a rush._

“THANK YOU!”

_Backey nodded to Baby, before leaving to go back to Astro. He wondered if Baby was going to show that picture to Captain Ellis and Crewmate Thomson…_

 

_Astro looked up to Backey. He hadn't really thought about it, but now that he was on the floor. Backey was rather short. As in, the shortest crew member on this shuttle. Astro's shoulder went up to his torso, and his head was almost to Backey's shoulder. Huh, wonder why Backey was like that...._

 

_Backey looked back at Astro. It seems like the only time he seemed to be “taller” than Astro was when he was standing and Astro was sitting down. Although, he knew that it didn’t count. It was a bit of a random thought, but it’s what came to mind when he looked at Astro… Oh, right, the art supplies. Gotta put them up…_

“HEY, UM, ASTRO? DO YOU WANT TO HELP ME PUT THE ART SUPPLIES UP IN THE LOWER SHUTTLE?”

_He said, still holding the crayons in his hand. He didn’t really make much note of it, but he heard one of the crewmembers get up and walk over to somewhere behind him. Heh, that must be Baby showing that drawing he was working on to the other two crewmembers._

 

“Sure, Backey, I don’t see why not.”

_Surprisingly, he forgot he couldn't manually get up off the floor on his own. He attempted to, only to fail and fall on his knees. Ow. That kind of hurt. He groaned once he remembered-_

“Oh, yeah…”

_He looked up to Backey and waited for him to lend Astro a mechanical hand. He turned his head and saw Captain Ellis hanging the picture that Crewmate Bronco drew with a big grin on his face, right beside the expedition suit. It wasn't the greatest thing Astro had ever seen, but the context behind it was touching._

 

_Backey took Astro’s hand and pulled him up, already used to this routine._

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU FELL ON YOUR KNEES THERE WHEN YOU WERE TRYING TO GET UP…”

_I mean, he seemed fine, but it did kinda look like it hurt a bit when he fell…_

 

“Yeah, though I did land pretty hard on them…”

_He dusted some dirt off of them and was relieved to find that neither had any scrapes or scratches. That would be annoying to buff. He let Backey lead the way to the next room._

 

“HM, WELL, ALRIGHT…”

_Backey picked up the art supplies that were left on the floor and then walked over to the door to the lower part of the shuttle. Ah, his hands were full._

“CAN YOU GET THE DOOR FOR ME?”

 

“Sure thing, Backey.”

_He walked in front of Backey and opened the door to the lower shuttle, swaying his hand and inviting Backey to go through. Had to be a gentleman._

 

_Backey giggled a little at the gesture, amused._

“HEHE, THANKS, ASTRO.”

_He then walked through the door into the lower part._

 

_Astro closed the door gently behind him, listening to it creak and groan. Hm, maybe he should fix that later. He looked over to Backey and walked up to him. He saw the empty space where the crayon box was, which was about head level of him. He wondered how Backey got that crayon box down in the first place without spilling its contents._

“If you want me to, Backey, I can put that box of crayons up for you.”

 

“AH, YEAH, I’D APPRECIATE IT IF YOU’D DO THAT…”

_He put the crayon box in Astro’s hand, then went to put the unused paper and pencils he grabbed back where he got them from. Thankfully, they were at a level that was easy for Backey to reach, so he put them back pretty easily._

 

_Astro reached up and gingerly put them away, dusting his hands off after. He looked down to Backey. Well... now what? They seem to get in this predicament a lot, him and Backey. He could go and get his work done, but he didn't really want to. Heh, look at the AI not doing his job._

 

_Once Backey had put back the supplies, he went to look at Astro for a second. Hm… Well, while they were in here, maybe they could talk about something? I mean, Astro did have work to do, but a small conversation couldn’t hurt, could it?_

“UM… IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT WHILE WE’RE IN HERE?”

 

_Huh, that was coincidental. Astro thought for a moment. Well, he really wasn't an expert at starting a topic or conversation. It really wasn't in his code._

“Not that I can think of…”

_And of course, he remembered his nightmare exactly as he said that. His gaze fixed on the crayons, specifically the yellow one on the box, and he tried to decide if he'd tell Backey or not._

 

“HM… WELL…”

_Backey thought for a moment, trying to think of something to bring up… They were talking about dreams earlier… and Backey told Astro about his dream but… Ah! Astro didn’t tell him if he had a dream… maybe they could talk about that?_

“I WAS WONDERING… DID YOU HAVE A DREAM LAST NIGHT? I FORGOT TO ASK YOU EARLIER…”

 

_It was like Backey could read Astro's mind. Astro couldn't really tell if he could or not. Astro couldn't really avoid the topic now-_

“Well…”

_He leaned on the wall, crossing his arms in thought-_

“I did have a dream, but… I wouldn’t call it that… More of a… uh… nightmare.”

_He glanced at Backey earnestly._

 

“OH… THAT SUCKS, SORRY YOU HAD TO EXPERIENCE THAT…”

_Backey met Astro’s gaze with curiosity, but also a bit of concern._

“...WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IT? IT’S ALRIGHT IF YOU DON’T, I UNDERSTAND IF YOU’D RATHER NOT TALK ABOUT IT…”

 

_Astro knew that Backey was really curious, and even though it unsettled him greatly, he was okay with telling it to Backey. I mean, that's what couples were supposed to do, right?_

“I’ll tell you, Backey…”

_He slid down the wall to the floor, getting comfortable. This might take a moment or two._

 

“AH, ALRIGHT…”

_Backey slid down the wall with Astro, sitting down next to him. He had to wonder what kind of nightmare Astro had… He hoped it wasn’t too bad._

 

_Astro did the sensible thing and started from the beginning. For some reason, it gave Astro a negative feeling that he remembered every second of that nightmare._

“Well, it started with me in the shuttle, and it was pitch black. U-uhm, somehow, I found my way to the light switch and… and you were under the only light on.”

_He started to get nervous as he continued._

“I-I remember what you said. Y-you sounded… You sounded over-excited. Y-you said… Y-you said you loved me, a-and I thought it’d be all okay, b-but then you said ‘Let me show you!’”

_He did his best to mimic Backey's voice, emphasizing the excitement with his face. He wished it would have ended there._

 

_Huh… it seems like they both dreamed of each other, although his dream was a happy one while Astro’s was… well, a nightmare. I mean, from what he’s described so far, the dream was fine, but… he knew it was going to get worse from there._

“...WHAT DID I WANT TO SHOW YOU?”

 

“Wh- I-I had no idea! I-I still don’t! I’m guessing it was just the confusing properties of the unconscious thought, b-but… I’m not sure…”

_He watched Backey, reflecting his confusion. He slumped his back as he continued-_

“I remember walking up to you after that. I… y-your face… I’ve never seen one like it. Y-you looked happy, b-but… also enraged. Devious. ...E-evil…”

_He spaced out for a moment, then felt regret hit him-_

“I-I hate to say that a-about you, b-but it’s the only way I can describe it…”

 

“...HUH…”

_Backey wasn’t really sure how to react. What was on Astro’s subconscious that it made him think of this? I mean, dreams could be a bit random at times, but still..._

“DID I DO ANYTHING TO YOU…? IN THE NIGHTMARE?”

_He was almost afraid to ask at this point, but he did anyway. He wanted to know..._

 

_Astro heard the nervousness in Backey's tone when he spoke. He wanted to reassure him, but at the same time, tell the truth. He sighed-_

“W-well… yeah. You grabbed my hand and we basically flew to… the Moon Tower.”

_He shivered, the nightmare growing fresh in his database. He hates those towers, they just give him a horrible feeling._

“Y-you started to whisper. ‘Let me show you… Let me show you…’ ...B-but show me what, though? I-I still don’t fully understand it.”

_He felt grim as he continued on-_

“Th-then… you started to laugh. It wasn’t a… a joyful laugh. It was… maniacal. I-I was… scared. Of-of you…”

_His screen started to take on a faint but noticeable lavender color, as if it was transitioning from light yellow to blue..._

 

_Backey’s expression turned into one of concern as he noticed Astro’s screen start to change. This nightmare… wasn’t all that nice. Although, nightmares aren’t really supposed to be nice. It was also interesting to hear the towers being mentioned again. Those things… he didn’t know what was up with them but he knew they gave him a bad feeling. He wanted to comfort Astro… He’d be ok with him taking his hand, right? I mean, he might have done so in the dream, but he certainly wasn’t going to do what his nightmare self was doing. Besides, that... that wasn't him. He's not like that. He took one of Astro’s hands in his and gave it a gentle squeeze._

“...WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?”

 

“W-well… y-you…”

_His voice got caught in his chest, and he swallowed. He took in a breath to stabilize himself._

“Y-you pushed me into the tower. Y… You screamed and cussed at me, and… and that was the worst part. Th-then, I was in this infinite void, and the sounds… I can’t describe it any other way than… cows. Tortured cows. I-I don’t _get_ it… Then something got me. I don’t know if I would have died or not, but…”

_His screen was now the blue it was going to be, a lighter, more ocean blue. He subconsciously squeezed Backey's hand for comfort._

 

“I’M ASSUMING THE NIGHTMARE ENDED THERE?”

_Backey’s thumb brushed over Astro’s hand, stroking it. Backey’s screen seemed to transition into a little bit of a darker blue, looking a bit glum._

“I’M… I’M REALLY SORRY THAT YOU HAD TO EXPERIENCE THAT. IT SOUNDS HORRIBLE.”

 

_Astro's screen spun to look at Backey, concern flooding it. His screen started to return back to normal, going back to a lavender color._

“N-no, it’s okay, Backey. It wasn’t that bad…”

_He let his other hand clasp on Backey's, holding it delicately, as if it was an injured animal._

 

“HM, WELL… ALRIGHT…”

_Backey’s screen faded back to his normal light blue. Heh, now both of his hands were being held…_

“I’M JUST A BIT CONFUSED WHY YOUR NIGHTMARE HAD ME OF ALL PEOPLE BE… THE ANTAGONIST, I GUESS…”

 

“Well…”

_Astro sighed, letting go of one of Backey's hands to think._

“I’m guessing my thoughts have been focused toward you lately, and the… the recent undesirable emotions that I have been experiencing, and I guess the two meshed together and I got… a vivid nightmare…”

_He looked to the floor, seemingly deep in thought._

 

“MAYBE…”

_Backey’s free hand went up to his face in a thinking position for a second._

“I GUESS MY DREAM KINDA APPLIES TO THAT, BECAUSE MY… MY TH-THOUGHTS HAVE MOSTLY REVOLVED AROUND YOU… THE MAIN DIFFERENCE BEING THAT MY DREAM PICKED UP MY POSITIVE EMOTIONS INSTEAD OF MY NEGATIVE EMOTIONS…”

_Now Backey really wished he remembered his dream more. It probably could have cheered Astro up potentially. Maybe next time he dreams he’ll make a note of it before he forgets it._

 

_Astro nodded, sighing. The silence clung in the air like a foul smell, and Astro didn't really know if he should leave or not. After all, there is work to be done._

 

_Backey noticed the silence, and let his hand that was on his face fall to the floor._

“...W-WELL, UM… THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW ABOUT YOUR NIGHTMARE. JUST UH… I GUESS LET ME KNOW IF THIS BECOMES A RECURRING THING.”

_His hand squeezed Astro’s again, giving him a soft look._

“...AND… NEXT TIME I DREAM OF YOU I’LL TRY TO REMEMBER IT A BIT BETTER. THEN I COULD TELL YOU MORE ABOUT IT…”

 

_Astro watched Backey's screen, letting himself relax and for once, let his shoulders have slack. He was safe with Backey. ...Backey would protect him, even though he's a little small. He's tough... Astro didn't have control over his body as it leaned up against Backey, his head lied on Backey's smaller shoulder. For once in this goddamn shuttle... he felt safe._

 

_Backey’s screen brightened slightly, but he didn’t say anything. He just wrapped an arm around Astro, sort of in a protective hold. Sure, Astro might be bigger than him, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be a bit protective of him. He’d fight the world for Astro… He let himself relax as well, just wanting to enjoy this moment._

 

_Backey's warm arm flowed through his sensors, and he felt himself curling to the touch. He was going to try and not go to sleep, but right there with Backey like that, it was a challenge not to charge a bit._

 

_Backey didn’t really want to ruin the moment, so he just stayed as he was. His hand rubbed into Astro’s back comfortingly. He wished they could just stay like this forever… it was nice._

 

_Astro felt himself relax, unwind, and just let loose. And then the door to the lower area creaked open._

"Hey, Captain Ellis said th- Oh." _It was Thomson, carrying a thin piece of paper. His hand was still on the door when he spoke, but his eyes widened when he went silent. Astro felt himself flush in embarrassment very quickly. Thankfully, he looked away so he wouldn't blind his crewmate._

 

_Backey’s screen also brightened, looking anywhere but at Tom. ...On the bright side, at least they weren’t walked in on doing something more… intimate than this. He was kinda unsure whether or not to separate from Astro, he didn’t really want to… but he would if he had to he guessed._

“...C-CAPTAIN E-ELLIS SAID WH-WHAT?”

_He stammered. Could’ve done without the stuttering, but oh well._

 

_Tom just kept staring at them. Even though Astro didn't want to, he scooted away from Backey, placing his hands on legs. Tom snorted a bit as he tried to hold back a laugh, but he quickly recovered-_

"U-Uh, Captain Ellis wanted Astro. He said some transmissions came in while you guys were back here.... doing whatever." _Astro nodded, though he heard Tom's tone. Ugh, Tooomm...._

“Alright, I’ll be there in a second…”

_Tom made a clicking noise with his tongue and finger gunned the two, grinning. Astro was aggravated, but he couldn't say anything about it. Hmph._

 

_Backey huffed as he watched Tom make his exit, leaving himself and Astro alone again. Well, whatever. That happened. It was embarrassing, but honestly he should have expected that. The shuttle was too small for them not have someone walk in on them at least once. He turned back to Astro and sighed. He missed having Astro on his shoulder, the absence of his warmth making him feel weird. He knew they couldn’t really just go back to what they were doing, Astro had a job to do…_

“W-WELL, UH… I GUESS I WON’T KEEP YOU FOR TOO LONG, BUT UM… CAN I HAVE A KISS? BEFORE YOU GO AND WORK AND STUFF?”

_He felt kinda silly asking that, but it’s what he wanted. Maybe they could cuddle later when they’re not busy, who knows…_

 

_Astro felt himself laugh at the question. I mean, what type of question was that? He smiled and leaned back over to Backey, giving him a peck on his figurative lips._

 

_Backey smiled into the kiss, the spark short but sweet. He pulled away, before grabbing Astro’s hand. Not only did he want to hold it, but he also knew that Astro would need help getting up soon._

“I LOVE YOU, ASTRO…”

_He stared up into Astro’s screen, a heart flashing on his own with a sweet and tender look on his face. He felt so lucky to be dating someone like Astro…_

 

_Astro felt himself blush at Backey's expression. It was... true love. To be even able to feel love was amazing, but this... the word love could be a bit of an understatement. The heart on Astro's screen didn't take long to show up to the party, and Astro mumbled softly-_

“I love you too, Backey, and nobody can say otherwise…”

_Not even the voices._

 

_Backey grinned, happy with Astro’s words. All Backey wanted to do right now was shower him with affection, but he didn’t want to hold Astro up for much longer._

“HEHEH… WE SHOULD PROBABLY GET UP NOW, BUT I WANT CUDDLES LATER. AND LOTS OF AFFECTION. PROMISE ME WE’LL DO THAT?”

 

_Very straightforward, huh? Astro liked that about Backey._

“I promise.”

_He squeezed Backey's metal hand affectionately._

 

“GOOD. IT’S SETTLED THEN.”

_Backey giggled, before moving to stand up, pulling Astro with him. It put him in a cheery mood to have something to look forward to later…_

 

_Astro dusted himself off, getting one more glance at Backey, and then went out of the door to do his stuff. Letting the door creak open fully, he walked out to his station. Well, time to do the ol' routine. Before he could start, he heard footsteps walk up behind him._

"What took you so long, Astro?" _Captain Ellis asked questioningly._

“Oh, I just talked a bit with Backey, is all…”

_Astro answered. He did everything in his power of speech to avoid what happened after that. The Captain seemed to pause for a moment, then he said-_

"Y'know, you and Backey really get along for two AI. Heck, you two are in a relationship! I wonder if you developed these feelings on your own, or that they were programmed into you..." _He seemed to be talking half to himself, but the statement caught Astro off guard. He thought for a moment. Programmed into me...? Wouldn't that mean that the creator would intentionally implicate that, set a date for the code to activate, and know it will all go to plan? Or, would it be a different scenario... Was he destined to love Backey? It kinda made him wonder.... He doubted it though. He grabbed a cable as he spoke-_

“To be honest, Captain, I’ve wondered the same thing…”

_He said it in a dismissive tone, and Emmet caught on._

"Hm, well, alright. Once you're done with that, could you help me out with some transmissions I recorded?" _Emmet started to pick up a few empty soup cans off of the floor, presumably to distract himself from his own mind. Astro could relate. Astro nodded and plugged the cable in, starting his writing process._

 

_Backey soon followed Astro after he double checked to see that everything they put up was in its proper place, walking out of the lower part of the shuttle. He continued until he entered the main part, catching part of the conversation. “I wonder if you developed these feelings on your own, or that they were programmed into you…” That was a good question… He wasn’t quite sure of the answer either, but he kinda placed his bets on the first choice. I mean, he could be wrong, but no one would really know besides his creators probably. By the time he finished thinking to himself, Astro and Emmet were already done talking, so he just stood nearby, looking around the shuttle whilst waiting for a chance to jump into the conversation or if anyone would give him something to do._

 

_It didn't take too long for Astro to finish, and not very long after, he was at the Captain's side, slumping in aggravation and confusion. The transmissions sent in sounds like morse code all jumbled up into a mess of noise! It must have been corrupted by something, but the big question was what? He glanced over to Backey, who seemed to be staring off into space. His glossy screen wasn't really focusing on anything. Cute._

_He looked back to the transmitter. Noticing that Emmet seemed too deep in thought to be disturbed, he played the tape again, listening closely. Nothing. The only thing that sounded remotely like English was the word "time", but it sounded like "Chyhm." It wasn't very long, either. He turned to the captain-_

“Captain, the only answer I could come up with is that this wasn’t made for us. Or, our transmitter picked it up from a weak signal.”

_Emmet almost didn't look like he noticed, but then he blurted-_

"What was that weird energy you said came from the towers? Maybe that was it? I think the towers have something to do with this... H-Hold on..." _He suddenly got up and paced around the room, frantically scanning the whole shuttle. Astro watched him with slight concern, but Ellis soon found what he was looking for._

"Ah, here it is! Why did I store it here?" _He pulled out a strange rock from behind the soup storage, it being about the size of a potato. It looked like one, too._

_"Tell me if this emits the same energy!" He shoved the rock close to Astro's screen, making him flinch. He recovered and focused his mind on the rock. Nope. Just a rock._

“No, Captain, it’s just a space rock.”

_Emmet had the snarl of a tiger on his face._

"How is that possible?! The rock was located near the main towers when we went to the pyramids! If it doesn't have the same... wait..." _He paused, looking back down to the rock._

"Oh, I'm an idiot! It's from the towers! How would the energy transfer to other objects?" _Now he was just talking to himself. Astro chipped into his frenzy._

“Uhm, maybe we should take a break from this before you completely lose it, Captain Ellis.”

_Emmet looked at him for a moment, then he sighed quietly-_

"Yeah... a break might be a good thing..."

 

_Backey snapped back into attention once Emmet started to ramble about where he found the space rock and such. He walked up to Emmet and Astro._

“UM… COULD I TAKE A LOOK AT IT?”

_He might not really find anything, but maybe if he looked at it close enough he could figure something out about it? Who knows. He held out his hand for if Emmet was going to place it there to allow him to take a closer look._

 

_Emmet stared at him with a calculating gaze._

"....Suuure, Backey. Uhm, go crazy." _He handed the rock to Backey and immediately went back to the transmitter. Astro watched Backey curiously._

 

_Backey looked over the rock, rotating it in his hand as he scanned it. Hm… nothing out of the ordinary. Like Astro said, it’s a space rock. However… Hm… maybe there’s something inside it…? I mean, this could be a long shot, and it could just be for nothing, but it doesn’t hurt to ask about it, does it…?_

“HM… NOTHING SEEMS TO BE OUT OF THE ORDINARY ABOUT THE ROCK, BUT I HAD A THOUGHT OCCUR TO ME… WHAT IF SOMETHING WAS INSIDE IT? I MEAN, MAYBE NOTHING’S IN IT, BUT IT NEVER HURTS TO TRY AND LOOK AND SEE, RIGHT? ASTRO COULD PROBABLY BREAK INTO IT, OR CREWMATE BRONCO PROBABLY COULD TOO.”

 

“I could break it.”

_Astro carefully took the rock away from Backey. He grabbed it with both of his hands and prepared his joints. He took in a breath and he tried to- Crack! Oh, that was... really easy. He looked at the inside and his sensors were bombarded with a gallery of colors. The pastels were swirling into another. He tried to count them all. Green, yellow, red, pink, purple, blue, orange, magenta, violet... there were so many more._

“Wow, I’ve never seen a rock like this before…”

 

“WOAH…”

_Backey looked into the rock, fascinated and dazzled by all the pretty colors._

“IT LOOKS VERY PRETTY… BUT WHAT’S WITH ALL THE COLORS…?”

 

_Astro studied it, rotating it in his hand. The inside was crystal-like, glittering under the light of the shuttle. Must have been the reason it broke so easily. He ran his thumb over the surface, his sensors retrieving the data. Hm, seems like a common component, found even on Earth, but the inside was like nothing Astro had ever seen before._

“It almost looks like some sort of gem…”

_Well, at least the inside does._

 

“IT DOES…”

_Backey looked over to Emmet, surprised he hadn’t said anything on the matter. Ah, still head-first into those transmissions. He should get his attention._

“HEY, CAPTAIN, COME TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!”

 

_Emmet whipped his head over to stare at Backey, slightly aggravated. Astro felt a defensive emotion flow over him, and he really didn't know why. Emmet didn't do anything wrong... right?_

"What? What's so interesting about a dumb space ro- woah." _Once he got a closer look, he saw the pastel rainbow inside. He slowly took one of the chunks of the broken rock and inspected it curiously._

 

“S-SORRY FOR BOTHERING YOU CAPTAIN, I JUST THOUGHT YOU’D FIND THIS INTERESTING…”

_Backey mumbled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck._

 

_Astro stood by, watching the captain with a calculating stare. He'd step in if Captain Ellis said anything, even though it was disobedient._

"No, I just was over-enveloped with my work. Huh, it's some sort of crystal, fully developed, too. Nice size." _He tossed it in his hand a bit, and a tiny part broke off from the impact, falling on the floor. Emmet added-_ "Very fragile, too."

_He held it up to the window, and the light from outside shone on it, casting a reflective glow onto the window. Astro watched with awe._

 

“YES, AND IT’S QUITE BEAUTIFUL TOO… IT MAKES ME WONDER IF THERE’S ANY MORE OF IT OUT THERE…”

_I mean, unless they just got extremely lucky with this rock, it’d be the most logical conclusion, right?_

 

"I mean, there probably is. Unless I dug up some extremely rare, one-million-year-old crystal..." _Astro could see a small glint of excitement in Emmet's eyes, but it faded-_ "But, it's probably just uncommon." _He set it down on the desk, turning to go back to work._ "You can do whatever you want with it, I won't be needing it."

_Astro looked at it, a question in his head. What would that be useful for? I mean, it's not just a pile of garbage, it clearly has some value to it. But what for? Maybe Astro only thought it had value to it. Maybe it was some common arid wasteland rock, sitting around like every other rock. But Astro didn't think so. Maybe it wasn't any clue or evidence to help out the crew to escape this, but it wasn't... nothing._

 

“HM… I WISH THERE WAS A BIT OF A SAFER PLACE FOR IT… MAYBE IT COULD BE STORED BY ONE OF OUR CHARGING STATIONS…?”

_He looked to Astro, thinking. Even if this rock wasn’t important, it was a bit fragile, so if they wanted to keep it safe it should probably be put away somewhere… Although, for some reason he does get the feeling it is somehow important. He just doesn’t know why that would be the case._

 

_Astro chuckled for a moment-_

“Well, I don’t really trust myself, and… I’m still a bit curious about it…”

_He unconsciously took one of the pieces and was beside the crafting machine before he knew it. He placed the rock under it and turned it on. He watched as it easily broke into the rock, crumbling a chunk of it. He turned off the crafting machine and stared at the crystal inside. He turned around to face Backey, too deep in thought to speak._

 

_Backey stared at Astro for a second, before going to pick up the remaining pieces of the rock off of the desk._

“WELL, I GUESS IF THAT’S THE CASE, IT COULD BE STORED BY MINE…”

_He looked down to the rock for a moment, admiring its beauty, before looking back up._

“...YOU LOOK LIKE YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING… DO YOU MIND TELLING ME WHAT IT IS YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT?”

 

_Astro looked back down at the rock, then up to Backey again. The idea in his head grew larger at the second, and at all costs, he couldn't tell Backey. If the idea went into action, that is. Well, he just can't say no-_

“U-uh, just an idea that I received…”

_He looked over to Ellis, who seemed to not be doing anything and staring at the two. Maybe he could tell him._

 

_Backey stared at Astro curiously. An idea…? It kinda seems like he’s being purposefully vague…_

“WHAT SORT OF IDEA…?”

_He’d probably back off if Astro continued to be vague, but it didn’t hurt to prod at it a little bit._

 

“O-oh, just a stupid one…”

_Astro swallowed nervously and glanced away, his screen starting to shine a bit. Emmet gave him a confused look, and Astro looked away from him too, eventually back down to the rock._

 

“HM… WELL, OKAYYY… I DOUBT ANY IDEA FROM YOU IS ‘STUPID’, THOUGH.”

_He turned away from Astro, walking over to his charging station to put the pieces of the rock next to the picture Astro drew him. He stared at them both, smiling. He was starting to like his charging station a bit more…_

 

_Astro felt the breath he apparently was holding escape him, and he relaxed a bit. Alright, he might be an AI, but he needed someone else's opinion on this. He walked up to Emmet, who stood up._

"Uh... yes, Astro?" _He raised an eyebrow. Astro felt himself grow nervous again, but he took a breath and spoke-_

“May I ask you a question? Since you’re the commander of this ship…”

"Oh, yeah, sure. What is it?" _Astro leaned in to "whisper" into Emmet's ear, lowering his speakers so that only Emmet could hear._

_He whispered what was apparently on his mind, and Emmet's expression changed rapidly._

"R-Really?" _He mumbled in shock, moving away to look at Astro screen. Astro nodded, fidgeting with his own piece of rock in his hands. Emmet smiled a bit-_

"You really want to do that?" _Astro felt himself blush as he nodded again._

 

_Backey tore his gaze away from his charging station, back to Astro and Emmet. ...What were they mumbling about…? He walked back up to them._

“SORRY, GOT DISTRACTED FOR A MOMENT. WHAT DID I MISS…?”

 

_Astro and Captain Ellis looked at each other, and Emmet gave him a reassuring look._

"No, you didn't miss anything, Astro was just telling me something he heard on the transmission." _Astro nodded, even though everything in his code was screaming at him for lying. But, this was a good lie, a reasonable lie. Right? Yeah, it had to be._

_Astro felt himself grow giddy with excitement. He looked at the rock again and studied it, turning it over in his hand like Emmet had done._

 

“OH, UM, ALRIGHT…”

_Backey watched as Astro looked at his piece of the rock curiously. He was still curious about what idea Astro had… but he guessed he’d find out sooner or later._

 

* * *

 

_Astro silently carved into a piece of jewel, shaping out an edge. He had been spending days and nights on this, and Captain Ellis, with a bit of help from the rest of the crew, kept what was now known as "The Secret" out of Backey's mind. He didn't know how he did it, but he somehow got enough rest to fulfill all of his and everybody else's needs whilst doing this. Hopefully he could get what he was working on done, either today or tomorrow._

_He glanced around to make sure no eyes were on him, then he held the gem up to the light. Perfect. Almost an exact replica as the first one. He went back to work, hiding it behind his large frame._

 

_Backey walked out of the lower part of the shuttle, sighing. Whew, finally got that done. The captain had asked him to clean and organize all the stuff they had in there, which proved to be a bit time consuming. In addition to that, the other crew members had been asking him to do more stuff for them as well… they’d kept him busy lately. Which he guessed was fine, it was nice to have stuff to do instead of just doing nothing most of the time. He kinda wished he could spend that time with Astro though… Speaking of Astro, there he is in the corner, by the crafting machine. He walked up behind him, but couldn’t really see what Astro was doing._

“HEY ASTRO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

_Backey inquired, curious, like he tends to be most of the time._

 

_Astro jumped, not expecting Backey to be done so quickly. He swiftly swiped whatever he was working on into a compartment in the crafting machine and turned around, looking down to Backey._

“O-oh, uhm, just something Captain Ellis assigned me to fix. Apparently, one of the tools has been dysfunctional lately, so I was going to repair it.”

_Boy, it was really hard to lie, especially to Backey. He did his best to keep those toxic voices at bay, just as Backey said, but it was more and more of a duel each day. Guess it was just him._

 

“OH, SORRY IF I’M INTERRUPTING YOU… I JUST WANTED TO SEE WHAT YOU WERE UP TO SINCE I’M FINISHED UP WITH MY TASKS.”

_Backey was happy now that he was finished. He had time to spend with Astro now! Well, as long as he wasn’t distracting Astro too much from his own task, he guessed._

 

“Nah, you’re fine. You… wanted something?”

_Astro put down the chip he was using to carve the gem too and looked up at Backey with a warm gaze._

 

“OH, JUST TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU I GUESS. I’VE BEEN WANTING TO FOR MOST OF THE DAY SO FAR, BUT I’VE BEEN KEPT BUSY… BUT NOW THAT I’M DONE, WE CAN DO WHATEVER WE WANT, UNLESS WE’RE GIVEN MORE TO DO…”

_Backey met Astro’s gaze, his look just as warm._

 

“Well, what were you thinking? I have nothing in mind since I was kinda just busy, but… I want to spend some time with you too.”

_He really had to say, this project was a bit time consuming. Really time consuming. But, he knew it would be worth it in the end._

 

“HMM… WELL…”

_Backey thought for a moment. What could they do…?_

“...MAYBE SOME AFFECTION WOULD BE NICE…?”

_Physical or verbal affection, he wasn’t picky. Kisses, hugs, and all those things… All the things that made him feel soft inside. He kinda yearned for it after not being around Astro for a while…_

 

_Astro snorted at Backey's request. Again, it was funny to see him be accidentally straight-forward._

“Affection? How’s this?”

_Astro got up and leaned in, giving Backey a smooch right on his screen._

 

_Backey giggled a little, before kissing back for a moment. It was always interesting to watch the spark that would flash between him and Astro’s screens when they kissed._

“HEHE… IT’S GOOD.

_Backey said after he broke away from the kiss. He slipped one of his hands into Astro’s, giving him a loving look._

“ANY MORE AFFECTION WHERE THAT CAME FROM?”

 

“Indeed.”

_Astro suddenly wrapped his arms under Backey's own and picked him up! He twirled him around like a ballerina on a music box, even though Astro was a bit wobbly. Huh, maybe Astro was bottling up this sudden confidence of PDA and affection towards Backey for a couple of days, but now, here it was, making an entrance._

 

“EHEHEHE~! ASTROOO~!”

_It filled Backey with glee to be spun like this. He rather liked it up here… You would easily be able to tell how happy he looked by looking at his screen, a faint heart starting to appear._

 

“Whaat~? You don’t like it up there?”

_Astro brought down Backey closer to his body, bringing them closer together. He still spun around, making sure he didn't hit anything, or he didn't let anything hit Backey._

 

“NOOOO~”

_Backey giggled, relishing in being pulled closer to Astro._

“I LOVE IT~”

_Backey said, the heart on his screen clearer now. He stared into Astro’s screen, focusing on him._

 

_Astro laughed, the heart quickly growing on his screen a light reddish-orange color._

“Ohh, alright! Wanna soar? How about you soar!”

_He lifted Backey higher than before, spinning faster as well. He was extra careful not to lose his balance or make someone hit something. He wanted Backey to laugh._

 

“EHEHAHAHA~!”

_Astro got what he wanted, as Backey started to laugh joyfully. It was strangely satisfying to be spun around like this in the air. It gave him a different perspective being high up like this. The world was a slight bit blurry as they spun, affection bubbling up in his chest as they went round and round. Backey was a bit impressed that Astro could do this without knocking into anything… He guessed it showed how careful Astro could be._

 

_Astro laughed too, holding Backey up and spinning him like a toddler. It was funny to think of it like that, but it was the only way that Astro could describe it. He started to spin less, slowly coming to a stop. Ugh, he did it again. The world was spinning. It was strange how HQ implanted that with both of them. He guessed his balancing sensors were attempting to recalibrate. He leaned onto the wall to keep him up._

 

_Backey’s laughter died down to some giggles as they slowed to a stop, before the dizziness hit him. He clung to Astro tightly._

“HEHE… THAT ALWAYS MAKES ME FEEL DIZZY…”

_That didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy it though. It was really fun to be spun around, even if it made him dizzy like this._

 

“M-me too, heheh…”

_Astro held his head as he felt his weight shifting to get support from the wall, feeling the world spin. He would need the extra support, since he was already slightly imbalanced proportionally. He didn't even think of what or where Backey would be on him._

 

 _As Backey calmed down a bit, his giggles started to fade too. He looked down from Astro, then saw where he was situated on him. O-oh… uh, eheh… um, that’s a bit close to uh… to…_ **_there._ ** _He started to blush quite a bit._

“U-UM, ASTRO? THE WAY YOU’RE HOLDING ME TO YOU IS A BIT… UM…”

_He kinda trailed off a bit, embarrassed to say it._

 

_Astro didn't know what Backey was talking about at first. He put a hand up on the wall as he spoke-_

“Close to… what now?”

_Not really understanding what Backey meant, he accidentally slipped a bit, probably making whatever he didn't see... worse._

 

 _Backey squeaked. Haha haaah ha… Oh boy, he’s_ **_very_ ** _close now. He couldn’t speak, so he just shakily pointed down towards what he was close to, screen continuing to brighten. Oh boy…_

 

“Wh-what are you talking abo- …”

_Finally, he saw what was happening. He quickly propped Backey up higher, maybe lifting him off his feet again, in sheer embarrassment._

“J-jeez, I’m sorry! I-I couldn’t see-”

_He wouldn't look Backey in the eye, or well... screen as he turned his head sharply away. Looks like he made a mistake. Whoops._

 

“N-NO, IT’S ALRIGHT, ASTRO- I KNOW YOU DIDN’T MEAN TO PUT ME SO CLOSE TO… TH-THERE.”

_That was a bit close, but they didn’t actually touch, so it was fine. Doesn’t mean it flustered him any less though… He was fine with a bit of PDA, but not that much. They’d have to go somewhere private for more… intimate things. Although, Astro didn’t mean to do that, so whatever. Just a small mistake._

 

“I- heh… I’m sorry…”

_Astro's screen was a very light yellow, and he hoped no one was watching them._

 

_Backey shook his head. Enough of those… thoughts. For now at least. Back to what they were doing before._

“A-AHEM… A-ANYWAY, ANYTHING ELSE AFFECTION-WISE?”

 

_Astro looked back to him, his screen started to die down again. He raised an eyebrow. Well, what else could he want? Especially after that, Astro would have called it quits there... Guess Backey just missed him._

“W-well, I have no input in mind. What were you thinking…?”

 

“HM, WELL… I GUESS A HUG OR SOMETHING WOULD BE NICE… SOMETHING THAT KEEPS ME CLOSE TO YOU…”

_It was a rather tame request, but it’s something he wanted. A hug would be nice…_

 

_Very quickly, a heart appeared on Astro's screen, being pink in color._

“Aww, Backey, you want a hug?”

_He asked, not knowing he placed a hand over his power surge, or well... heart. The way Backey timidly asked it, the way he looked at him with a shiny, glowing screen. Smiling a small smile. It... made Astro melt._

_The heart didn't change as he wrapped his massive arms around Backey, enveloping him in a tight embrace._

 

_Backey wrapped his arms around Astro as well, enjoying the warmth around him with his head resting on Astro’s chest. A heart appeared on his screen as well, a calm blue color. Being in Astro’s arms always did make him feel safe._

 

_Astro lied his head on Backey's own, sighing quietly. This was nice, just being in Backey's arms like this. He wanted to stay there forever, but he knew he'd have work to do. Sooner or later, he would have to leave. But, there isn't a reason why they should stop now. Once Astro gets this project done, they could do more of this._

 

“I LOVE YOU, ASTRO… YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME, YOU KNOW THAT?”

_He mumbled softly. He hoped they’d be together forever…_

 

_Astro smiled, clinging onto Backey tighter than before._

“It’s still quite an amazing thing to comprehend, but… yes, I do. And I love you too.”

_He shifted his head and planted a kiss on the top of Backey's screen, the spark small. To hear those words come out of his speakers to another person was still... abnormal, to the least. To hear those words be directed to another AI was mind-boggling. To hear those words go to Backey... was astounding. It was like a higher power had forced them in the same environment, and to be built by the same creators. Those people... made this happen. HQ... made this happen, so no matter how much Astro scolded himself or HQ for his disadvantages, for his "issues".... he had to thank them. Every single day, he had to thank them. For bringing him Backey. For bringing him the person he loves._

 

_Backey’s gaze turned warm, and he leaned up to give Astro a quick kiss in return. He was grateful that his and Astro’s lives were intertwined in this way. He hadn’t expected to ever feel so strongly about another AI, but here he was, head-over-heels in love._

 

_Astro finally decided to let go, unwrapping himself and prying away from Backey. He watched him with a warm, pink-hearted gaze, and he kept fidgeting with his thumb in a circling pattern._

“A-ahm, I should… probably get back to the thing I was doing. I-I would like to get it done soon.”

_He rubbed the back of his neck with his warm hand. The Secret was kinda hard to keep when the victim of it is right in front of you._

 

“A-AH, UM, ALRIGHT, I’LL LEAVE YOU TO DO THAT THEN…”

_Backey took a step back from Astro._

“I THINK I MIGHT GO CHECK WITH THE CREW THEN TO SEE IF THEY WANT ME TO DO ANYTHING ELSE… GOOD LUCK WITH WHAT YOU’RE WORKING ON!”

 

“You too, Backey…”

_Astro's heart slowly died away. He felt himself dive into thought as he walked back to his work. The strange, sudden rush of emotion that hit him when he said that was... definitely not supposed to happen. The longing he felt to be back with Backey was a different thing, but the pure... sadness that hit him, no, no human being would feel sad after that. So why do I, an AI who wasn't even really supposed to develop emotions, feel so sad suddenly? He hoped his screen didn't turn blue as he grabbed the carver to go back to work._

 

* * *

 

_Another nightmare._

_Astro's screen flickered to life, slowly glowing to life. His mind felt groggy, as if he had been asleep for days. But it couldn't have been more than one day, because his internal clock was on par with yesterday. Once he finally came to his senses, he realized it was still dark, the blazing sun had still not risen._

_He glanced around, seeing that... nobody was in the shuttle...? What happened? He clicked his head back onto his body and stood up, glancing around. The shuttle creaked and groaned without the familiar snoring of the crewmates. He was about to check outside when Backey walked up right behind him. Astro turned around, surprised-_

“Oh, Backey, you scared me! D-did you want anyth-”

_Suddenly, blue liquid started to pour out of Backey's neck, dripping down to the floor. Astro felt his body shudder in surprise and he stumbled back in pure horror. The liquid coming out of Backey was the human equivalent to... blood. It courses through the whole body of the AI, and the power surge is the main source. Again, the main power surge was like a heart. The color of the blood could depend on multiple things, but since it was blue, it meant that the energy was still flowing in him. This was unnatural._

_Astro watched, pale-faced, as Backey's screen turned black, and he slowly started to fall to the ground._

“B-Backey! NO-”

_Astro suddenly woke up. He whipped his head around, trying to see if Backey was at his station. He was absent. Astro felt his heart start to beat as he quickly connected his body to his head, looking around. Nobody was in the shuttle._

_He waited for a few minutes to see if anybody would appear, if anything would happen. But nothing did. Astro turned around, looking everywhere, trying to see anything, anyone. He walked over to the lower part of the shuttle. He obviously couldn't hear anything, but his gut feeling told him something was wrong._

_He took in a breath, a shaky breath, and slowly opened the door._

“ASTRO! ASTRO, HELP ME!! ASTRO!”

_Backey's horror-filled screams immediately his microphones. He gasped as he saw Backey, torn apart, bruised and bloodied. One of Backey's arms was tossed across the room, a trail of blood following it._

“Backey! Oh my God, Backey, who did this?! Wh-what happened?!”

_Astro ran over to Backey, almost tripping over his own two feet. He crouched down and stared at his love, his pride, his joy, in the state he was in. He grabbed Backey's one hand and clutched it desperately._

“Wait, no, please don’t die on me Backey, please don’t shut down. Backey, please-!

_Astro suddenly woke up._

_He was breathing heavily, and he felt a shiver run down his spine. Everybody was gone. Again. Astro had caught on that these were nightmares, but why did they repeat like this? Was Astro never going to wake up from this hell? This time, he commanded his body to stay on it's charging station, to not move a muscle._

_He heard footsteps. He immediately cursed himself for not putting his head on, because he couldn't see who it was. It was too dark to see, but the figure stalked up to his body... and smashed it. Smashed it to a million pieces. Astro's heart dropped, but he stayed silent. This was a killer._

_Once Astro's camera's adjusted, he saw that the figure was carrying a baseball bat, and that was what they used to destroy his body. Transparent but slightly yellow blood flowed out of Astro's body, and Astro himself couldn't move anymore. The figure's head suddenly whipped around, and it was like a light turned on. It was Backey._

_Backey laughed, then stuttered-_

“I-I TOLD YOU SO, ASTRO. I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN.”

“Wh-what would happen?”

_Astro questioned naively. Before he could even catch his mistake, Backey shakily lifted the bat up in the air, his voice growing to a cackle._

“W-wait, Backey, NO!”

_Astro suddenly woke up. Again. This had started to grow into a repetitive, torturous cycle. He woke up, something bad would happen. Wake up, someone dies. Wake, death. This time, Backey had grabbed Astro by the neck and snapped it. Astro woke up. Backey had tried to commit suicide by pouring water on himself. Astro woke up. Backey's limbs were slowly being ripped apart by a huge robot. It wasn't like Astro or Backey. Its eye glowed too red to have a conscience. This repeated over and over and over and over again._

_Backey stood over Astro, carrying his disembodied arm in his clutches, laughing like an insane person, pouring Astro's own blood onto his body. Tears would have clearly been streaming down Astro's screen. When would this end?_

“B-Backey, please! P-please st-stop! Make this all end!”

_Astro suddenly woke up. He jumped with a jolt, his screen extremely warm, and he was shivering as if he was in the middle of a snowstorm. He suddenly choked-_

“No! Please! N-N-Not again!”

_But this time, it was no dream._

 

_Backey was startled awake by Astro’s cries._

“MMGH, WH-WHAT? A-ASTRO??”

_His cameras were still trying to focus. Being woken up unnaturally like this had its downsides. He was still booting up at this point and would take a few seconds to be fully awake._

 

“B-Backey? A-are you there? A-are you o-okay?!”

_Astro couldn't see if Backey was there or not, but his cameras were fogging up like something was in them. His body stumbled around blindly, almost tripping on the tip of the charging station. It went over to Astro's head and quickly put it on, but Astro still couldn't seem to pull himself together as his body fumbled back to the station, not having a command._

 

“WHAT?? Y-YES, I’M FINE, I’M HERE-”

_Backey’s vision cleared finally, and he could see panicked state Astro was in, struggling on his charging station. He commanded his body to unplug itself and to go put on his head._

“BUT ARE YOU ALRIGHT?? WHAT HAPPENED???”

_Once he was put together, he hurried over to where Astro was, highly concerned._

 

_Astro's body was huddled in a corner, shivering as Astro sputtered out random mumbles. His head whipped around when Backey was close to him, His cameras dilated as he pleaded-_

“W-wait, th-this is a bad one, i-isn’t it? O-oh God, no, Backey, please don’t hurt me! Not again, please!”

_He put his arms up to cover his screen, crouching down to stand even shorter than Backey. His trembling was so aggressive, it almost looked like he was terribly ill. He was like a wild animal, and he looked horrified like a caged animal, too._

 

_Bad one?? Hurting him again??? Backey watched as Astro crouched down, shaking violently. It hurt him to see Astro like this, but he was also really confused._

“A-ASTRO, WHY WOULD I H-HURT YOU? CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHAT’S WRONG??”

_Why was Astro so afraid of him all of a sudden?? He crouched down to get onto Astro’s level._

 

_Astro violently flinched when Backey crouched down, knocking himself on the wall. He scrambled as far away as he could, which was only a few inches, from Backey. He raised an arm defensively as he spoke-_

“W-what’s wrong? Y-you should know! P-please, don’t play stupid, just make it go quick! I-I don’t want you to torture me again! It hurts, can’t you see?! Why won’t this nightmare end!”

 _He yelled, his eyes wide with terror. Suddenly, Captain Ellis shot out of his seat, confused._ "W-Woah, woah, what's going on? Astro, was that you?" _He asked, blinking to try and see in the dark. His glasses were not beside him, so he couldn't really see._

 

_A flash of realization hit Backey as soon as the word “nightmare” was said. Astro was having nightmares, and he thought he was still in one. When he heard Emmet, he spun and turned towards Emmet. He decided to respond to Emmet first._

“Y-YES, THAT WAS ASTRO. I-I THINK HE THINKS HE’S IN A NIGHTMARE RIGHT NOW-”

_He looked back to Astro, conflicted on what to do. Astro was afraid of him right now, so he couldn’t really touch him to comfort him. It was probably best to just back up. From what he’d seen, apparently his nightmare self had done horrible things to Astro. He didn’t even want to know what he did… He stood a couple of steps away from Astro now, standing._

“A-ASTRO, I-I’M NOT GOING TO HURT YOU. PLEASE CALM DOWN, YOU’RE NOT IN A NIGHTMARE ANYMORE!”

 

_Astro felt Backey's work catch him off guard. But he wouldn't let his guard fall completely. Not yet._

“H-how do I know that? H-how do I know you won’t turn and break me?”

_He suddenly stopped talking like he realized something, but that wasn't the case._

“O-oh no, you’re not the good one, are you? Oh no, no! Please, no, don’t die! I can’t watch you die again!”

 _He quickly stopped cowering and ran over to Backey, forcing him into Astro's arms. It wasn't full of love, it was a full protective hug, Astro wrapping his arms around Backey's back, covering his hands to try and protect him from nothing. His screen was quickly turning into an indigo color the more Astro or Backey talked._ "W-What's wrong with him?" _Emmet started to sound concerned, getting up to try and find his glasses._

 

_Backey grew confused again. He felt like he was getting whiplash with the sudden changes in Astro’s behavior. H-he died and tortured Astro in the same nightmare? Or… wait, he’s referring to me as if there were different versions of me… He must have had multiple nightmares, one of those ones where you can’t wake up no matter how hard you try… Backey felt a pang of sadness that Astro had to suffer so much. He didn’t respond to Emmet this time, too preoccupied with Astro._

“A-ASTRO, I’M NOT GOING TO DIE, PLEASE, _CALM DOWN._ WE’RE BOTH SAFE, NO ONE IS GOING TO GET HURT, JUST PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!”

 

_Astro looked at Backey's screen clearly for the first time that night. His breath was too quick as he clutched onto Backey's wrist with such a grip that it had to hurt. But, Astro couldn't notice._

“How… do I… do I know… you’re not… not going to…”

_He trailed off, trying to catch his breath._

 

_Backey winced as Astro clutched his wrist._

“W-WELL, FOR STARTERS, E-EVEN IF THERE WAS SOMETHING HERE TO HURT US, YOU’RE HOLDING ME IN A WAY THAT WOULDN’T LET THEM HURT ME, AND IT ISN’T REALISTIC FOR ME TO JUST RANDOMLY DIE IN YOUR ARMS.”

_He put his free hand on the arm Astro was using to grab his wrist, and looked into Astro’s screen._

“I-I’M A LOT TOUGHER THAN YOU THINK. AND PLEASE, REMEMBER TO BREATHE, ASTRO.”

 

“I-I don’t…”

 _Astro stammered, trailing off yet again. He tried his best to catch his breath, but it was like something was constraining him from doing so. He sniffled, trying not to cry in front of the captain._ "...Is he okay...?" _Emmet asked, walking up a bit closer with his glasses now on. His eyes were round with concern, and he kept slipping his glasses up on the bridge of his nose like he wanted to see better. Astro's screen was now the indigo color that it was when Astro had beaten himself up._

 

“N-NO, NOT REALLY TO BE FRANK.”

_Backey replied to Emmet. He pried Astro’s hand off his wrist and gave Astro a hug._

“I-IT’LL BE OK, ASTRO. WE’LL BE FINE. YOU’RE SAFE. I’M SAFE. WE’RE ALL SAFE.”

_He rubbed his hand comfortingly into Astro’s back, hoping it would calm him down a bit._

 

 _Astro coughed, hiding his sob. Emmet's eyes looked so confused, and the moment that Astro looked at him, he knew he wanted to help. But, Astro couldn't even help himself._ "He had... a nightmare?" _Captain Ellis asked, walking a bit closer so that he was standing right beside the two. Astro nodded his head to give him an answer, which he didn't know if Ellis even saw it or not. He commented on Backey's words-_

“I-I don’t… _feel_ safe here, Backey. I… I don’t trust this place…”

_He rubbed his computer head under Backey's, snuggling up under it. He felt so scared._

 

“YES, HE HAD A NIGHTMARE. A TERRIBLE ONE THAT SEEMED TO LOOP IT SEEMS…”

_Backey sighed. He wasn’t quite sure what to say to make Astro feel better or safe. He continued to hold him._

“I-I’M SORRY TO HEAR YOU SAY THAT, ASTRO. I-I WISH I COULD HELP MORE…”

 

“No…”

_Astro took a shaky breath, releasing it and letting go of Backey._

“It was just a nightmare.”

 _He spat out the word "nightmare" that made that sentence sound a much colder than Astro may have intended. Emmet looked at the two then spoke-_ "Well, I'm going to try and fall back asleep. Try not to do that again, Astro." _Emmet caught his tone of voice and corrected himself-_ "Well, I mean, if you do, know that it's alright." _He walked back to his chair and sat down, curling up like a dog to fall asleep. Astro envied Captain Ellis. He wanted to fall asleep again that quickly._

 

_Backey felt too awake to just fall back asleep right now. Unless Astro really wanted him to just go back to charging and leave him alone, he was going to stay up. He glanced to Emmet, surprised that he could fall back asleep so easily after that, then looked back to Astro._

“W-WOULD… WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IT? OR WOULD YOU RATHER JUST TRY TO TAKE YOUR MIND OFF IT? I… I JUST… IT CONCERNS ME TO SEE YOU LIKE YOU WERE, ASTRO, AND I WANT TO HELP…”

_He was still highly concerned for Astro. For Astro to wake up like that and act the way he did… it must’ve been horrible._

 

“It… makes me feel better when I let you know about these… these nightmares.”

_Astro sighed, jumping right into it._

“The way they’d start is that… I’d wake up, and then something bad would happen. The first one, I woke up, and nobody was in the shuttle besides me. I… I looked around, but then you just… appeared right in front of me. I… I can’t remember what I said, but… then you just started to bleed. Th-the liquid that runs through us? Do you know what that is?”

_He looked up at Backey, his face looking more and more pained as he spoke._

 

“UH… IT’S LIKE OUR ENERGY, OR LIFESOURCE, ISN’T IT?”

_Backey could already tell that these nightmares were going to be gruesome. Poor Astro…_

 

_Astro grimly nodded and continued-_

“U-uhm, that came out of your neck… and-and you fell… then I woke up again.

_He paused for a moment, probably preparing himself for a very long story._

“U-uhm, in this one… I-I… you were… I walked down into the lower part of the shuttle, and-and you… you were… b-being… you were torn apart…”

_Astro shied his screen away from Backey and into the floor, his screen growing a brighter indigo._

 

_Backey placed a hand on Astro’s shoulder, perhaps to ground him a bit._

“...A-AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED?”

 

“...Y-you cried out for help. And then… And then I tried to help you. Y-your arm was across the room- I-I tried to help you, but… I woke up. Again and again and again and again…”

“The ones… the ones I remember the most are… o-one was that you… I was still connected to my table, and… and you came out with a bat and… s-smashed… my-my body… then killed me…”

_Astro sniffled, and his voice started to sound strained with effort as he continued-_

“Another one was that… you were standing right beside me… and you had a glass of water… an-and you just…”

_He waved his hand in a shrug-_

“You just killed yourself…”

_He sniffled again, looking up at Backey with a face that said Astro was still confused._

 

_Backey’s look saddened, his screen starting to shift into a darker blue._

“S-SO… THAT’S WHY YOU WERE SO SCARED OF ME, BUT ALSO PROTECTIVE OF ME WHEN YOU WOKE UP? BECAUSE YOU AND I WERE KILLED SO MANY TIMES? ASTRO… I… I’M SORRY YOU HAD TO SEE AND EXPERIENCE ALL THAT…”

_He was surprised these dark things came out of Astro’s subconscious. Was there something he was afraid of deep down…? Or was it something else…?_

 

“Don’t be sorry, Backey, you didn’t do it…”

_Astro didn't want Backey to feel that way about it, but he knew no matter what, he'd make Backey sad by telling him that. It kinda warmed Astro to know that Backey cared about him. He knew it wasn't hollow sympathy._

 

“YEAH… I JUST… I WISH I COULD’VE PREVENTED YOU FROM HAVING THESE NIGHTMARES, OR AT LEAST NOTICED AND WOKE YOU UP SOONER SO YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO SUFFER AS MUCH… I WOULD’VE HAD THE NIGHTMARE MYSELF IF IT MEANT YOU DIDN’T HAVE IT…”

_Backey knew that it was out of his control, but he still felt a bit bad about it. He just wanted Astro to be able to sleep peacefully…_

 

_What Backey said, especially the end, hit Astro really hard. He caught his breath in his throat, but he still spoke anyways, making his voice even more strained and a bit higher pitched-_

“No, Backey, I-I don’t want you to have these nightmares. I don’t want you to go through that. I-I would rather just keep it like this, no, _please_ don’t… Don’t take them…”

_He knew he was crying. He knew he cared. He knew he couldn't stop it._

 

_Once Backey recognized that Astro was crying, he lowered his arm down and gave him another hug. His grip on Astro was tight, but not too tight._

“I-I DON’T THINK IT WOULD EVEN REALLY BE POSSIBLE FOR ME TO DO SO, SO I COULDN’T ACTUALLY TAKE THEM FROM YOU… I’M SORRY… J-JUST… IF YOU DO HAVE ANOTHER NIGHTMARE, AND I’M STILL ASLEEP, YOU CAN WAKE ME UP. I… I DON’T WANT YOU TO SUFFER ALONE. YOU CAN ALWAYS TALK TO ME.”

 

_Astro returned the hug, maybe, yet again, a bit too tight. He stifled a sob as he spoke-_

“Thank you, Backey. I-I love you so much…”

_He buried his head in Backey's shoulder, smothering it._

 

“Y-YOU’RE WELCOME, ASTRO. I-I LOVE YOU TOO…”

_Astro’s grip was a bit tight, but Backey didn’t comment on it. Astro needed this. One of his hands came up to rest on Astro’s head, caressing it gently._

 

_Astro felt himself... suddenly growing tired in Backey's embrace. He wondered if he would fall asleep in this position, which was... slightly comfortable. His grip loosened a bit as he grew more and more tired by the second._

_Maybe he would fall asleep.... And it turns out, just after a couple of seconds saying that, he didn't remember what happened. He fell asleep, right there._

 

_Backey watched as Astro’s screen went dark, meaning he had fallen asleep. If Astro was able to fall asleep so easily in his arms while standing, either Astro was really tired, or Backey just calmed him down so much that he made Astro feel safe enough to fall asleep. It kind of warmed his heart actually. It was cute. Backey did his best to carefully guide both him and Astro to the floor, before lying down. It was quite comfortable like this… After a moment, Backey fell asleep, safe within Astro’s arms._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the chapter my dudess
> 
> Btw, if you guys happen to find any typos or mistakes in any of the chapters, let me know, and I'll fix em


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's playing who in this chapter:  
> Astro, Emmet, Tom - Dyno  
> Backey - Me
> 
> I said in the last chapter's notes that I would share an expressions sheet collab I did with Dyno, so here is:  
> https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/561681305436160011/592841629845684224/AAAAAAAAAAstro.jpg  
> (also, the "your choice" one is "pleasured", so a bit of warning there for suggestiveness-)
> 
> Also, this chapter contains nsfw content, so if you wanna skip over that once you come to it, you can

_ The project was done. After a full week and one day of pure labor, it was finished. Astro sighed, holding his prize in his hands. _

_ He looked over to see Backey, doing his job and cleaning up some stray empty cans from the floor. Astro didn't really enjoy seeing him be put through this, but he couldn't be bothered. He was too busy. Astro looked over to Captain Ellis, who was accompanied by Crewmate Thomson. He quietly waved them over, and the two sneakily stalked up to Astro. Whatever they were doing, it was clearly part of The Secret. _

 

_ Backey took up the soup cans in his arms and deposited them in the bucket next to him. It was the bucket that initially been stuck on Crewmate Thomson’s foot. It was kinda funny actually, he remembers seeing Crewmate Bronco having to take it off for him once they first got settled into the shuttle… He wasn’t really aware of anything that anyone else was doing, too preoccupied with his work and his thoughts. _

 

_ Astro, Tom, and Captain Ellis all whispered and mumbled among themselves. They seemed to be coming up with a plan, but by the way it was going, it seemed that the two boys were kind of controlling the AI. They whispered something to him, and then they pulled him over to the door to the lower shuttle area, forcing him inside and locking the door behind it. They both had big grins on their faces when they turned around. _

 

_ Backey finished up with the bucket, putting it in the corner near the crafting machine and shovel. He was going to get cleaning supplies next, to clean the place further, but he remembered they were put up in the lower shuttle. He looked over to the door, seeing Tom and Emmet standing near it with the grins on their faces. Huh… He walked over to them. _

“WHAT’S GOT YOU TWO IN SUCH A GOOD MOOD…?”

_ Backey asked, curious. _

 

_ Both Tom and Emmet's smiles wavered for a moment, but Tom came up with a lie in the snap of a finger- _

"Oh, just seeing you clean. Y'know, it's kinda weird to think that all the garbage goes into the bucket my foot was in. Makes sense, my foot was in it, after all."  _ They shared their best attempts at a chuckle. _

 

“OH, HEH, I GUESS SO…?”

_ Backey was a bit confused as to how that would make them so happy to think about, but he just dismissed it. The smallest things could make a human happy he guessed. He looked past them to the door. _

“W-WELL, UM, I’M GONNA GO GET THE CLEANING SUPPLIES FROM THE LOWER PART, IF YOU DON’T MIND. UNLESS YOU TWO WANT ME TO DO SOMETHING ELSE FIRST…?”

 

"Oh yeah, there is one more thing,"  _ Emmet replied, looking a tiny bit more relaxed.  _ "Uhm, could you check the crafting machine for me? I was going to use it yesterday, but it wouldn't turn on. Oh, and if it does turn on, could you craft some soup for us, please? I... we, the crew, would be very appreciative."  _ The captain nodded over to where the crafting machine was. _

 

“OH, SURE THING, CAPTAIN!”

_ Backey nodded, then went over to the crafting machine to inspect it. _

 

_ Emmet and Tom exchanged glances, thankful that Backey didn't question anything. They guarded the door until Astro came back out. _

 

_ Backey tapped the screen of the crafting machine, testing to see if it would turn on at that. Sure enough, it did. Huh... He selected a soup can to craft and confirmed it. Now all they had to do was wait. _

“ALRIGHT, IT’S CRAFTING NOW, CAPTAIN!”

_ Backey called out to Emmet over his shoulder. _

 

"O-Oh, thank you, Backey. I'm... guessing it's working again?" _ Ellis stuttered, slightly surprised of how efficiently Backey had finished his request. _

 

“I GUESS SO.”

_ Backey shrugged, then walked back over. _

“ANYTHING ELSE? OR CAN I GET THE CLEANING SUPPLIES NOW?”

 

"Uhhh... Backey, you don't really have to clean anymore. You got this place pretty damn spotless, so I'd say you could relax."  _ Emmet mumbled, glancing and breaking eye contact from Backey. _

 

“OH, WELL… ALRIGHT THEN.”

_ He did suppose Emmet had a point. He’d been cleaning the place daily for about a week now, so he didn’t really give the shuttle a chance to get that dirty. _

“I GUESS I’LL GO HANG OUT WITH ASTRO THEN… WHERE IS HE, ANYWAY? I COULD’VE SWORN HE WAS IN HERE A MOMENT AGO…”

 

_ Both Tom and Emmet flinched. They gave a quick glance at the door behind them before Tom quickly responded-  _ "Oh, he said he was busy at the moment."  _ Probably could have said more, but Tom kept his mouth shut. _

 

“BUSY? WITH WHAT?”

_ Backey questioned. It was weird how they both flinched when they were asked where Astro was… Hm… _

 

"O-oh, I don't know, he didn't tell me." _ Tom blew off the question like it was nothing. Too bad he didn't know Backey very well. _

 

“HE DIDN’T TELL YOU…? THAT’S STRANGE…”

_ Something’s starting to smell fishy here… _

“DID HE AT LEAST TELL YOU WHERE HE WAS GOING TO BE?”

 

"Oh yeah. He's behind us, here."  _ He pointed a thumb to the door, having a slightly nervous look on his face. _

 

“OH, THEN I GUESS I’LL GO SEE FOR MYSELF WHAT HE’S ‘BUSY’ WITH.”

_ Backey looked behind them again to the door. I mean, it was the most logical place for Astro to be other than in the main shuttle. _

 

"NO!"  _ Both Emmet and Tom shouted as they blocked the door. They looked kinda panicked, and Emmet stammered-  _ "I-I mean, h-he told us to guard the door. I-I'm curious as to why, but he wouldn't tell."  _ Tom nodded vigorously, slightly grinning. _

 

_ Backey’s eyebrows raised, before narrowing in suspicion. He crossed his arms. _

“WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST TELL ME THAT IN THE BEGINNING THEN…?”

 

"W-Well, because... because you wanted to enter. Sorry, I guess I did kinda forget that..."  _ Tom averted eye contact from Backey, looking over to the door. _

 

“...SO I’M GUESSING YOU WON’T LET ME THROUGH?”

_ This was starting to get a bit frustrating… He just wanted to see Astro. _

 

_ Tom and Captain Ellis both nodded, still blocking the door. _

 

_ Backey huffed, screen starting to turn slightly red for a second, before going back to normal. There really wasn’t a point to getting angry over this. He took a breath. _

“...VERY WELL THEN. GUESS I’LL WAIT.”

_ He couldn’t exactly disobey them. He was an AI, and they were human. Besides, Astro was bound to come out sooner or later. He was curious as to what he was even doing in there anyway… This was weird. _

 

_ The two exchanged glances, filled with concern yet relief. Emmet looked back to the door and mumbled,  _ "Must be taking his time..."

 

_ Backey just leaned against the wall, tapping his foot on the floor impatiently. _

 

_ The three stayed in silence for a moment, which kinda made the whole situation awkward. Emmet kept getting impatient and glancing at the door, whilst Tom just stared off into space. The silence clung into the air annoyingly. _

 

_ Backey sighed. It wasn’t Emmet or Tom’s fault that they were keeping him away from Astro. Astro apparently asked them to keep guard in front of the door, so he shouldn’t be rude to them. Whatever Astro’s doing, it must be important. He wasn’t sure if it was just him that needed to be kept out or if it just applied to everyone… Hm… If it is just him that needed to be kept out… Maybe he was preparing a surprise…? Who knows. It was hard to guess what he was planning. He stopped tapping his foot, in thought for a second, then glanced back to Tom and Emmet. Might as well revive the conversation, this was starting to get awkward… _

“I… I DON’T KNOW WHAT ASTRO’S DOING, BUT… I’M GUESSING IT’S IMPORTANT. I JUST WISH I COULD SEE HIM ALREADY THOUGH. I ALWAYS WANT TO BE AROUND HIM… WHICH I GUESS WOULD MAKE SENSE, I’M DATING HIM AFTER ALL…”

_ Backey paused for a moment, before adding on, _

“H-HAVE… HAVE YOU TWO HAD ANYONE THAT YOU’VE WANTED TO BE AROUND ALL THE TIME? ...SOMEONE YOU REALLY LOVE…?”

_ Again, Backey’s curiosity came into play. Plus, it would be nice to hear that someone relates to him and his experience. _

 

_ Emmet's gaze grew confused. He took another glance at the door before answering-  _ "N… No... not... not really..."  _ He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged.  _ "Nobody I'd probably see anymore..." _ Tom looked at him, a confused look on his face. _

 

“OH… ALRIGHT. I WAS JUST A BIT CURIOUS I GUESS.”

_ Backey glanced to the door behind them, before fixing his gaze back to them. _

“I MUST SAY, LOVE IS A WONDERFUL FEELING… AT LEAST FROM MY EXPERIENCE WITH IT. I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT I’D EXPERIENCE IT, BUT HERE I AM I GUESS…”

_ Backey chuckled to himself. It was certainly out of the ordinary for an AI of all things to fall in love… and for another AI to return your feelings. He was thankful that things were this way though… _

 

"I bet it is..."  _ Tom mumbled, an edge of sourness in his tone. He leaned against the door, looking a bit bored. Emmet ignored Tom and nodded.  _ "Yeah, it can be. Though, I don't think you and Astro have a normal... human... relationship. Or well, I guess you could call it human, but it would be very rare on this occasion..."

 

“HM? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT…?”

_ Backey asked, a bit confused. How was it not normal, other than the fact that they were both robots? And rare…? _

 

"Well, I mean... you two... really love each other. Or, from wh-what I've seen, you two seem like... kinda like soulmates. A relationship can be... different. Sometimes.. they get into a relationship, something bad happens, and they... break up. Or, they stay together, but absolutely hate each other. Some people stay together just for other people!"  _ He chose his words carefully, not really knowing how to explain human love to Backey. Tom looked to Backey and nodded. _

 

“O-OH… S-SOULMATES, HUH…?”

_ Well, he guessed that described it pretty well. They were very close… Soulmates were quite an interesting topic, to be the most ideal person for someone, to be destined to be with them... very interesting indeed. After a pause, he addressed the rest of Emmet’s response- _

“I… FIND IT A BIT CONFUSING AS TO WHY A HUMAN WOULD BE IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH ANOTHER IF THEY DIDN’T LOVE THE OTHER PERSON… THAT’S… STRANGE, OR AT LEAST TO ME IT IS.”

 

"It's... human nature."  _ Emmet shrugged, rolling his shoulder. Tom looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't say anything as he turned his head. _

 

“HUH, WELL… ALRIGHT.”

_ Humans were confusing to Backey. There were a lot of things about them that didn’t make sense… but as Emmet said, he guessed it was in their nature. He glanced back to the door behind them again. Whatever Astro’s doing in there, it sure is taking him a while… _

 

_ The shuttle fell silent again, and the three stood for a moment, not doing anything or talking. Emmet started to fidget again and turn to look at the door. Tom started to tap his foot. Guess Backey wasn't the only one waiting. _

 

_...So what now, other than waiting for Astro? He could feel the curiosity eating away at him annoyingly. Like an itch he couldn’t scratch since something was preventing him from getting at it. He rubbed his arm a bit. _

“...EVEN IF I ASKED, YOU PROBABLY WOULDN’T TELL ME WHAT HE’S DOING IN THERE, WOULD YOU?”

_ He had the feeling they knew what Astro was doing. They had been acting too suspiciously to convince him otherwise. _

 

_ Tom and Emmet looked at each other.  _ "Uhm... to be blunt… no."  _ Emmet broke his gaze from Tom and shook his head, looking at Backey. Tom got the smallest of smiles on his face. _

 

“MHM… THOUGHT YOU’D SAY THAT.”

_ Was worth a shot, at least. Even though he was pretty sure they’d say no. If they wouldn’t let him past the door, why would they tell him what’s going on in there? _

 

_ Suddenly, there was a tiny knock behind the door. Emmet and Tom turned around, surprised, and got out of the way when the door opened. Astro came out, looking a bit nervous. He had his hands behind his back like he was in a meeting, or something similar. Either way, it looked like he was... attempting to be confident. He shut the door with the back of his foot, then he looked up. He flinched surprisingly hard when he saw Backey there, waiting on him. _

“Oh! B-Backey, I… didn’t expect you to be… waiting on me…”

_ He nervously rubbed his neck with on arm, keeping the other behind him. _

 

“WELL, I FINISHED CLEANING EARLY AND WAS GONNA GO AND HANG OUT WITH YOU, BUUUUUT THOSE TWO WERE KINDA PREVENTED THAT FROM HAPPENING,”

_ Backey said, looking over to them for a second, before turning back to Astro. _

“WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN THERE ANYWAY? IT SURE TOOK AWHILE FOR YOU TO COME OUT HERE…”

 

“It took me a while…?”

_ Astro mumbled to himself, looking back to the two men. They just watched him expectantly. Astro turned back, taking in a deep breath and releasing it. _

“Uhmm, Backey, may I ask you a question?”

 

“HUH…? SURE, WHAT IS IT?”

_ Backey asked. The question could be anything. It just made him have more questions... Astro didn’t exactly answer his question, so it kinda threw him for a loop for Astro to go straight to asking him that. He also noticed that Astro had one of his arms behind his back. Did he have something…? _

 

“Uh… well…”

_ He swallowed nervously- _

“I’ve been wanting to ask you this… f-for quite some time now, but the project kinda got in the way… But, anyway, uh…”

_ He shifted his weight from one foot to another. He didn't know why he was so nervous, but he couldn't stop his trembling hands. _

 

_ “YEAH…?” _

_ Backey felt anticipation build up within him. Project…? And he’s been wanting to ask this question for a while…? He felt as if this was important. He waited patiently for Astro to finish and ask his question. _

 

“Well, uhh, th-the reason I’m asking th-this, though it might seem a bit… crazy, is because I… well, you’ve heard me say it, I don’t trust this place. You… I never know what could happen, even though… I-I guess I’m supposed to have it all under control. The thing is… I-I really don’t.”

_ Astro looked over to Captain Ellis, who nodded. He looked back, growing more and more weak in the knees. _

“Wh-who knows? Something horrible could happen right now, and that’s the reason I have to ask this…”

_ He subconsciously took hold of Backey's hand with his own free hand, turning his head away from Backey. _

 

_ Backey nodded, understanding. He rubbed Astro’s hand with his thumb. _

“...AND YOUR QUESTION IS…?”

 

“A-ahm, well… I get more and more nervous every time I try to say it… but… uh… I-I’ve been wondering…”

_ Quickly, he bent down on one knee, balancing as much as he could. He revealed what was behind him to be a sparkling ring, its gem shaped like a heart. _

“Will you marry me…?”

 

_ Shock. That was one of the first things Backey felt. Nothing could have prepared him for Astro to ask him that question right then. His screen grew brighter as his hands went up to his face, unbelieving that this was happening. _

“O-OH- OH MY GOD, ASTRO, YOU…”

_ He stumbled a bit with his words. He knew this would happen eventually, he just didn’t expect it to be so soon. _

“I… YES. GOD PLEASE YES-”

_ He knew that if he could produce tears, there would be tears of joy. He just felt… really, really happy. Excited. He felt like there was a whirlwind of emotions within him. A bright purple heart appeared on his screen. A joyous heart. _

 

_ Astro felt the feeling of pure surprise course through his circuits. He said... yes..? Even though Astro had a feeling he would, it still felt so shocking for it to become a reality. _

“Y-you… really? O-oh- y-yes?!”

_ He didn't know why he sounded so surprised. He didn't know why he was so surprised either. _

 

“O-OF COURSE! Y-YES!”

_ Backey nodded his head vigorously. This feeling of pure excitement was hyping him up, making him giddy. He wasn’t sure what to do now. Hugs? Kisses? Jumping into Astro’s arms (at least, if Astro was prepared to catch him)? He could feel his feet stepping in place excitedly on the ground, not managing to stay still. He was too hyper for that now. _

 

_ Astro knew he'd be grinning from the edges of his screen. He somehow got up and gave Backey a massive hug. The captain and Thomson both clapped happily, although, Astro was too wrapped up to notice. _

 

_ Backey hugged him back tightly. There weren't enough words to describe how he felt. He… he had a fiancé now! Oh my God!! He was engaged, holy shit- _

 

_ They started to sway side to side a bit, still holding each other. It was probably from the new energy flowing through them. Astro had a million thoughts going through his database at once. He was now engaged to Backey. They were together. So many words were jumbled around, but he couldn't put them together in a grammatically correct sentence. There was just too much.... joy. A very hot pink heart appeared on his screen, reflecting off of the metal around him. _

 

_ Backey’s heart slowly transitioned to a hot pink as well. Now that they were engaged, wouldn’t there be a wedding? When would that be? What would it be like? So many questions were running through his head now. But for now, he just swayed side to side with Astro. To be honest, he kinda forgot that Emmet and Tom were there. _

 

_ Astro didn't know if he wanted to let go or not. This was.... the happiest he's ever been. Ever. He tried to go back and think of any other thing that could be better, and his mind went blank. The only thing else that could come partially close was when... when Backey confessed to him. Huh, it was kinda the other way around now. Astro proposed to Backey. _

 

_ Eventually, Backey broke away from the hug, but he still stayed close to Astro, holding his hand that wasn’t holding the ring. _

“I J-JUST… THIS FEELS UNREAL. LIKE, ALL MY EMOTIONS ARE JUMBLED UP. BUT IT’S A GOOD FEELING. I’M… I’M REALLY EXCITED. HAPPY.”

_ His grin turned into a soft smile. He felt on top of the world right now. All because of Astro. _

 

“I-I know, Backey, I feel the same. I-I’m still so… surprised I could have the confidence to even say this, b-but… somehow I found it.”

_ He shrugged, feeling his screen brighten a bit brighter than it was before. Not to say it wasn't bright. _

 

“I-I’M GLAD. TH-THAT YOU DID.”

_ Backey paused for a moment, before adding on- _

“SO… THIS WHAT YOU WERE BUSY WITH FOR ABOUT A WEEK OR SO? Y-YOU WERE MAKING RINGS? YOU MADE ONE FOR YOURSELF TOO, RIGHT?”

_ I mean, that would make the most sense of course, he just wanted to be sure. This just spawned so many questions for him… _

 

“Y-yeah, I did…”

_ He looked over to the crafting machine, then he looked back- _

“I’m really sorry I didn’t spend that much time with you, but… I-I didn’t want to lose track of it. I didn’t want to give up. Trust me… Heh, Captain Ellis and Thomson really had to convince me. Even though I was the one to suggest it…”

_ The two nodded when Astro glanced in their direction, smiling.  _ "Yeah, he really didn't know what to do with himself..."  _ Tom added, having a small smirk replace his eager grin. Astro rolled his figurative eyes. _

 

“N-NO, I UNDERSTAND. IT’S A TIME-CONSUMING PROJECT, AND I-IF I WAS THE ONE TO DO THIS… IT WOULD BE A BIT HARD TO GATHER THE CONFIDENCE TO D-DO SO.”

_ If he was the one to propose, he wouldn’t have known when he would have done it. It was something that took a lot of courage to do. Who knows…? Not him. He glanced over to Tom and Emmet. _

“A-AND… THANK YOU TWO FOR CONVINCING HIM.”

 

"Nah, it was nothin'," _ Tom shrugged, smiling. Emmet followed up- " _ Yeah, well, I mean, we're not the two getting together, I mean, you are... we just kinda... kept it in place."  _ It took a second for Ellis to evaluate what he said.  _ "W-well, ah, not that I would get w-with Tom, I-I just didn't say that correctly."  _ His face turned a tad bit red, and he bunched his shoulders. Tom only snorted in response. _

 

_ Backey chuckled. _

“W-WELL, YEAH, I WOULDN’T HAVE ASSUMED THAT FROM YOUR ORIGINAL SENTENCE, CAPTAIN,”

_ Backey said, teasing him a little. Gay thoughts much? _

 

"Uh, ahem, yeah- anyway, know that this wouldn't have happened without Astro’s suggestion." _ He nodded to Astro. Astro felt himself grow a small smile. _

 

“OF COURSE,”

_ Backey said, looking back to Astro. _

“I-IT FEELS CRAZY TO THINK WE’LL HAVE W-WEDDING SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE…”

_ Again, he had to wonder what it would be like. Would it be in the shuttle? Outside? What time? How long until the wedding day? So many questions… _

 

“W-well, if you really want one. I-I don’t think it would be the most… satisfactory… as other weddings I’ve seen, or well, heard of, but I know we can make it enjoyable by just having a good time.”

_ The heart on his screen turned a bit warmer pink, Astro rubbing Backey's hand in his own. _

 

_ Backey nodded. _

“MHM… WE WILL HAVE A GOOD TIME. ANYTHING IS GOOD AS LONG AS IT’S WITH YOU…”

 

"Ugh, the cheesiness is killing me,"  _ Tom suddenly groaned, taking a step to the side. Emmet rolled his eyes.  _ "Why don't you two spend some time together? I know Backey has been dying to." _ He gave a playful grin to the AI. _

 

“YES, THAT’S A WONDERFUL IDEA!”

_ Backey said cheerily, looking to Astro expectantly. It was true, he’d been wanting to spend time with Astro for a while now. _

 

_ Astro laughed- _

“Alright then, love, let’s go!”

_ He swooped Backey up like a little toddler, jogging off to the lower shuttle's door. Wanting to be silly, he slung Backey over his shoulder like he was a big plushie, but he was careful it would still be fun. _

 

“EHEHEHE~”

_ Backey just giggled, blushing a bit. He always liked being carried place to place by Astro. It always puts him a bit higher up than normal, and it was fun too. _

 

_ Astro opened the door, giggling, and then he shut it once the two got behind it. He swayed around a bit, just carrying Backey and listening to him giggle. _

 

_ After giggling a bit more as he swayed around, he then said in an amused tone, _

“OK, OK, YOU CAN PUT ME DOWN NOW ASTRO-”

 

“Why? You don’t like it up there anymore~?”

_ He teased. To add to it, he spun in a circle, slowly but still enough to shake Backey a bit. _

 

“EHEHEHE- N-NOOO, I LIKE IT, BUT I WANNA BE PUT DOWN NOW-”

_ Backey said through his laughter. He gripped onto Astro a bit tighter. _

 

“Oh come on! I can’t have the experience you’re having, so why not enjoy it?”

_ He didn't know why, but he just felt like he should keep teasing Backey. _

 

“MMMM FINEEE, BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU ASKED NICELY- AND I WOULD DO THIS TO YOU IF I COULD-”

_ It would be neat to hold Astro in his arms, but unless he suddenly got a lot stronger, he doesn’t see that happening. Not for more than a second or two at least. _

 

_ Astro twirled around again, a bit faster this time. _

“Comfy up there?”

_ He asked, half sarcastically. _

 

“HEHE~ MIGHT GET A BIT DIZZY AT THIS RATE, BUT I’M FINE!”

_ At least for now he was. This was rather fun, he had to admit. _

 

“Heh, alright, I’ll put you down,”

_ Astro said, the feeling he had dying away. He gently put down Backey down, leaning back and gazing at him lovingly after. _

 

“HEHE, THANKS, ASTRO.”

_ He returned Astro’s loving gaze, blushing a bit. _

“CAN YOU LEAN DOWN? I WANNA KISS YOU, BUT TO DO THAT I’D HAVE TO CLIMB YOU LIKE A TREE.”

_ Backey giggled, the mental image of that amusing him. _

 

_ Astro laughed for a moment, a pink heart flickering on his screen for a moment. _

“Yeah, I can.”

_ He leaned down, getting right face to face with Backey. _

 

_ Backey grinned, leaning in and giving Astro a kiss on his figurative lips, the spark connecting. He’ll never get tired of the feeling it gives him. _

 

_ Astro felt his heart flutter, and he let his cameras unfocus. Just being like this with Backey was amazing, and to know that they will do this so much more, well hopefully, made Astro feel a little giddy. _

 

_ Backey wrapped his arms around Astro, the spark growing a bit brighter as he did so. He’s been wanting affection all day, and he was a bit needy. He hoped Astro didn’t mind. _

 

_ Astro felt himself smile, warmth flowing through his body. Wrapping his arms around Backey as well, he let himself focus and looked at the blue spark in between their screens. _

 

_ Backey decided to deepen the kiss a bit, making the spark stronger. His cameras grew unfocused, and he had a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest. _

 

_ Astro didn't know where they would go with this, but Astro didn't care. He was just overjoyed with everything that had happened in the past ten minutes. _

_ He leaned back up a small bit, bringing Backey with him. He didn't want to lift him off his feet, but he didn't know if he had a choice or not. _

 

_ Backey’s feet left the ground as Astro did this, but he didn’t mind that much. He just gripped Astro with his arms a bit harder, while trying to find a place to put his legs. He broke away from the kiss to breathe, leaning his forehead on Astro’s. _

 

_ Astro breathed as well, feeling Backey's heat fall on his screen. He didn't even know he was lifting Backey up. _

“I-I’m the happiest I’ve ever felt, Backey. I… I love you so much…”

 

_ Backey smiled. _

“I-I’M REALLY HAPPY TOO, ASTRO. I LOVE YOU TOO, AND I REALLY AM GLAD TO BE WITH YOU. I JUST FEEL SO LUCKY. YOU’RE ONE OF A KIND, ASTRO… YOU’RE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE.”

_ Backey, not wanting to slip down, wrapped his legs around Astro. His cameras refocused on Astro, just wanting to see him, his husband-to-be. _

 

_ Astro flinched when Backey wrapped his legs around Astro's waist, blushing a small bit. He gave a small chuckle as he spoke- _

“I… I’m still… kind of shocked from the whole situation. To think, I fell in love with the only other Artificial Intelligence in the whole of the Astrocitizen program, we came together and were… a-a couple for a while, and now… we’re engaged. I… I’m so happy that I met you. I’m so happy I… fell for you. I’m so happy I can spend the rest of my life with you. I love you.”

_ He shifted a bit to prop Backey closer to him since it was a little uncomfortable. _

 

“I… I FEEL THE SAME ASTRO. AND I LOVE YOU TOO. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. SO, SO MUCH.”

_ Backey then started to kiss Astro all over his screen, peppering tiny zaps all over it. He wanted to give him all the affection he could offer. _

 

_ Astro giggled, turning his head slightly. _

“Wh-what are you doing? That slightly tickles-”

 

_ Backey giggled as well. _

“WHY, I’M KISSING YOU, SILLY!”

_ After saying that, Backey went back to kissing Astro all over his face. This was fun to do, and he could tell Astro enjoyed this. _

 

_ Astro laughed, taking a shaky step back. _

“Stop! It tickles!”

_ He shied his screen away from Backey, though, he didn't force him to stop either. _

 

“AWWW BUT YOU SEEM LIKE YOU’RE ENJOYING IT~”

_ Backey teased, leaning back in to give Astro more smooches. If Astro could tease him, so could Backey. _

 

“I-I am, but it really tickles!”

_ It was like a feather brushed over his screen every time Backey kissed him, and it looks like it wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. _

 

“HMMM… CAN YOU SAY THE MAGIC WORD~?”

_ Backey just wanted to continue this for a little longer. He’d had the idea to do this, but didn’t know when he’d get the chance to do it. Until now. _

 

“M-magic word? You mean please? B-Backey, I’m not five!”

_ Astro laughed. He knew Backey was just having some fun. And so was he. _

 

“I KNOW YOU AREN’T, SILLY!”

_ Backey laughed as well, stopping since Astro had said the word. Then, he nuzzled into Astro’s screen. He felt its warmth, and he smiled. _

 

_ Astro's own screen brightened. A lot. He didn't expect Backey to just... nuzzle him. Would it even be called a nuzzle? Either way, Astro didn't see it coming. _

 

“HEHE~ YOUR FACE IS GETTING WARMER, ASTRO.”

_ He always reveled in the fact that he could get Astro flustered like this. It was cute. He wondered if Astro would try and fluster him back... He usually does. _

 

“W-well yeah, y-you’re kind of… cl-close…”

_ Astro said, sounding a bit defensive. He didn't know if all the teasing was getting to him or not, but that didn't have the exact tone he felt. _

 

_ Backey giggled again. _

“WANT ME TO BACK AWAY THEN?”

_ It was a little funny to Backey that he could still get Astro flustered over the littlest of things. _

 

_ Astro paused for a second. Do I...? _

“Uh…”

_ He just stared at Backey blankly, not knowing how to respond. Well, he had over one hundred things to follow up with, but none seemed appropriate. _

 

_ Backey cupped part of Astro’s face. _

“NO…? YES…? COME ON, GIMME SOMETHING TO WORK WITH~! I CAN’T DO ANYTHING UNLESS YOU ANSWER!”

_ Backey knew that he was probably smirking right now. Teasing, as it turns out, is fun. _

 

“W-well, I don’t know myself! I-it tickles, b-but… it’s a li-little overwhelming.”

_ He shrugged, turning his blushing screen away. He didn't know if he was just a bit sensitive when it comes to things like this, but it really was. _

 

“HM, WELL IF IT OVERWHELMS YOU, I GUESS I’LL GIVE YOU YOUR SPACE~”

_ Backey went to move his face away from Astro’s, but not before giving him a peck on the cheek. _

“I ONLY DO THIS BECAUSE YOU’RE CUTE WHEN YOU’RE ALL FLUSTERED, Y’KNOW. JUST LET ME KNOW IF YOU ACTUALLY WANT ME TO STOP DOING SOMETHING.”

 

“Okay…”

_ Astro mumbled, still a bit white-faced. He liked Backey being close to him, but... sometimes it could get a bit... overwhelming. That was the only way Astro could describe it. _

 

“...DO YOU WANNA SIT DOWN NOW? OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO KEEP STANDING LIKE THIS?”

_ Backey asked softly. As much as he was comfortable in Astro’s hold, he wanted to be sure Astro was comfortable. _

 

“Whatever you want. I don’t care as long as I can spend it with you,”

_ Astro suddenly said, feeling his feeling of embarrassment melt away. _

 

“HEHE… GLAD YOU FEEL THE SAME,”

_ Backey said, blushing a little. _

“AND UH, I THINK SITTING WOULD BE NICE. THAT WAY, YOU CAN BE A BIT MORE COMFORTABLE.”

 

“Alright then, love.”

_ Astro put Backey down, and then he walked over to the wall, sliding down it down leaning on it with his back. He looked up to Backey to join him. _

 

_ Backey smiled and walked over to the wall as well, sitting down next to Astro. He snuggled up to him, getting comfortable. It made him happy to be called “love” by Astro. ...Should he try and think of a pet name for him too? Heck it, why not. He’ll just see what sticks. _

“SO… DARLING. WHAT DO YOU WANNA DO NOW?”

 

_ Astro chuckled unexpectedly, turning his head to Backey. _

“Darling? Where did this come from?”

_ He felt a little bad for pointing it out, but it was just too cute to ignore. _

 

“W-WELL, YOU CALL ME L-LOVE, SO I WANT SOMETHING C-CUTE TO CALL YOU BY AS WELL!”

_ Backey said, flustered. _

“D-DO YOU LIKE IT? OR WOULD YOU RATHER ME CALL YOU SOMETHING ELSE?”

 

“Wh-whatever you think suits me, Backey. I’ll love it no matter what.”

_ He smiled, a heart flickering on his screen for just a second. He didn't even notice himself calling Backey 'love', so he was a bit surprised when he heard Backey say it. It was probably his mental gears shifting since he was engaged to Backey now. It was still shocking to think that inside his head. _

 

“HEHE… OK, HONEY.”

_ There wasn’t much harm in switching up what pet names he uses. It was fun, actually. A heart appeared briefly on Backey’s screen as well as he grabbed one of Astro’s hands again. _

 

_ Astro squeezed Backey's hand, enjoying the warmth that flowed through his arm. Listening to Backey come up with little pet names for him got Astro a bit white. _

_ He looked up at Backey, just staring into his screen and looking at the lights from the shuttle reflect off of his sky blue screen. _

 

“A-ANYWAY, LIKE I WAS SAYING, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO DO NOW, NOW THAT WE’RE IN HERE?”

_ Whether it just be talking, or acts of affection, Backey would be happy to do so. He obviously was in an affectionate mood. Who wouldn’t be, after being proposed to by the love of their life? _

 

_ Astro thought for a moment. He couldn't really think of anything specific, just.... spend time with each other. He shook his head- _

“Not anything that I can think of off the top of my mind.”

 

“HMM… WELL, I GUESS WHAT I WANT TO DO IS GIVE YOU ANY TYPE OF AFFECTION YOU WANT… IF THERE’S ANYTHING SPECIFIC YOU’D LIKE ME TO DO.”

_ I mean, if Astro gives him what he wants, he’d like to give back. _

“THOUGH, IF YOU CAN’T THINK OF ANYTHING, I CAN JUST SUGGEST THINGS.”

 

“No, heh, I got nothing.”

_ Maybe it was because he actually just wanted to see what Backey would suggest, but he had no idea what they could do. _

 

“HM, WELL THERE MANY THINGS WE COULD DO. HUGS, KISSES, CUDDLES, CALLING YOU TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, RAMBLING ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU… YOU NAME IT, I CAN DO IT.”

_ Those were a few of his options. He could think of more if need be. _

 

_ Astro was in awe of how many things Backey had said. Was he just storing those in his short-term commands? Because if could name them on the fly like that, he must have more... right? _

“U-u-uh, w-well… U-uhm…”

_ He stuttered, not knowing how to respond to that. _

 

_ Backey just waited expectantly for Astro to answer. Did he say too many things? I mean, he just wanted to give Astro some options to choose from… _

 

“W-well, ahm, I’m not really sure what to… to say… I mean, those all sound great but… do you have more…?”

_ He probably had a shuttle-load of other things, but in the state of curiosity Astro was in, he wanted to hear more. _

 

“YEAH,”

_ Backey stated matter-of-factly. _

“I MEAN, SOME OF THOSE THINGS CAN BE A BIT BROAD. THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF KISSES, AND MANY PLACES TO BE KISSED. THERE ARE MANY WAYS YOU COULD BE TOUCHED. THERE’S A LOT OF THINGS I CAN SAY. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO WHAT YOU WANT.”

 

_ Astro stared at Backey, completely silent. He did have a lot more... but... nothing Astro could do to him. It was strange for Backey just to... give himself off. It felt... strange. He didn't really feel very strong about how Backey was giving himself away like this. He didn't say anything, it just... he didn't know how to start. Or where to go, what to do, when to do it. He was just lost. Backey lost him. _

“I… don’t want… you to do that,”

_ He slowly said, already feeling as if he chose his words too rashly. _

 

“HUH?”

_ Backey said, confused. _

“NOT DO WHAT?”

 

“Just… I don’t know what to do. “It all comes down to what I want”? What do I want? I…”

_ He paused for a moment, a focused look on his face. He tried again to speak his thoughts- _

“I just guess I don’t like the way you’re letting me… just take control. I don’t know why, it just brings an empty, confused emotion inside me.”

“...It just felt… incorrect.”

 

“OH… UM, SO YOU’D RATHER ME… DO WHAT I WANT? OR, UH, YOU WANT ME TO CHOOSE, OR TAKE OVER?”

_ Backey asked, trying to make sure he understood what Astro said. _

“S-SORRY, I GUESS I JUST WANTED TO DO WHATEVER YOU WANTED OVER WHAT I WANTED? I MEAN, I DON’T KNOW, I’M NOT GOOD AT DESCRIBING IT, I GUESS…”

_ Backey rubbed the back of his neck. He felt a bit unsure of himself. _

 

“Uh- heh, I’m guessing that’s what I’m trying to say.”

_ Astro shrugged. He felt like he paused what lovely moment they were supposed to have, and he hated that. He just wanted to continue. _

 

“HM, WELL, ALRIGHT…”

_ He thought for a moment about what he would want. _

“UH… WE COULD JUST KISS AND SEE WHERE IT GOES FROM THERE?”

 

_ Astro's screen brightened a bit when he blinked, flickering as a simulation. He chuckled a small bit- _

“A-ah… sure, love. We can… do that.”

_ He shifted his body to scoot closer to Backey, but to also prepare himself. He noticed that when he was with Backey, he didn't really have any control over his body. It gets a mind of its own... or it just loses control. Either way, he loses track of time. _

 

_ Backey also scooted a bit closer to Astro, turning to face him more. He always seemed to blush a bit whenever Astro called him “love”. Guess he just wasn’t used to it. _

“SO… WHO GETS THE FIRST MOVE?”

_ As in, who kisses who first? Should he just go ahead? _

 

_ Astro held back a laugh, having to move his head away not to accidentally bump into Backey. He looked back, smiling. _

“This… this is why I love you, Backey.”

_ He moved back to get right next to Backey, deciding to put an arm around his smaller figure. _

 

“WH-WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?”

_ Backey asked, blushing more due to Astro’s words and Astro putting his arm around him. Was he just asking a silly question or something? _

 

“It’s so funny to hear you be accidentally straightforward, is what I mean.”

_ Astro giggled when Backey asked his confused question. Again, just so adorable. _

__

“O-OH… I GUESS I WAS A BIT STRAIGHTFORWARD, HEH…”

_ He guessed he had a habit of being a bit direct… He chuckled a little, not really able to stop blushing. He was a bit flustered. _

 

_ Astro stayed silent for a moment, getting lost in Backey's screen. This is the person he vows to stay together forever with. This is the person he'd spend every day with. This is the person he loves... or, well, AI. His arm caressed Backey's softly, forcing the two closer. _

 

_ Backey blushed more when he was forced closer to Astro. Just the littlest, soft touches seemed to make him melt. And make him flustered. He stayed quiet as well, looking back into Astro’s screen with a flustered but soft gaze. _

 

_ Astro watched Backey's expressions change. He watched his screen grow brighter, and how he flinched from Astro's every move. Astro felt himself relax. Even though they hadn't done anything yet, he felt like he was already feeling satisfied. Just by being beside Backey. _

_ A purple heart started to appear on his screen as Astro sighed. _

 

_ A light purple heart appeared on Backey’s screen as Astro’s heart appeared. He decided to lean in closer to Astro, shifting just a bit as he moved in, and kissed him. No need to ask silly questions. Just go with the flow. _

 

_ Astro immediately leaned in, wrapping around Backey. It was like he was holding it back, because he really just went for it. The spark was already quite strong, flickering and zapping in between the two’s screens. His arms were hugging around Backey lovingly. _

 

_ Backey was a bit surprised by how strong the kiss was already. The fuzzy feeling in his chest returned as he melted into Astro’s embrace, wrapping his arms around Astro as well. _

 

_ Astro felt his body grow warmer as he hugged Backey, all the stress of the past and what would be the future melt away. His arms drooped a bit, and they relaxed on Backey's shoulders. This was what Astro wanted. _

 

_ Backey felt himself relax a bit as well,  the light purple heart transitioning into a relaxed blue. He started to deepen the kiss a bit more, watching as the spark buzzed a bit between them. His hands caressed Astro gently, enjoying Astro's warmth. _

 

“M-Mh…”

_ Astro made a faint noise, feeling a sort of... giddy feeling run through his body. To add, he made the spark even stronger, causing the spark's color to deepen. The spark looked strangely powerful, too. _

 

“MMHH…”

_ Backey made a bit of noise too, feeling the need to breathe, but wanting to share the kiss a bit longer. He found it interesting to watch as the spark grew more aggressive, as if it were dancing between his and Astro’s screens. His heart was starting to change a bit, shifting from a blue to a more pinkish color. He also found it interesting that their hearts could change as quickly as they could. _

 

_ Astro suddenly pulled back, panting. His screen's heart had changed to a pink color. _

_ He looked up, a warm look on his face. He wasn't holding Backey anymore, so he put his arms on his now crossed knees and hunched over, catching his breath. _

 

_ Backey also panted heavily, gulping in the fresh air. Maybe he should have pulled away sooner, but the kiss just felt too good. He shared the warm look with Astro, before mimicking Astro’s posture, trying to catch his breath. _

 

_ Astro watched Backey, his breath starting to return. His screen brightened slightly, continuing to watch. He didn't know why, either. Maybe it was because of what they were doing, or where he thought it would go, or... just Backey, but he couldn't find the exact answer. _

 

_ Once Backey caught his breath, he looked back up to Astro. He stared at him for a moment before leaning back in, wanting more. The spark reconnected, still very strong. Backey’s arms wrapped back around him. _

 

_ Astro didn't expect Backey to go back in again, so he flinched a bit. _

“Mh!”

_ But, he relaxed and returned the intensity when he comprehended what was happening. _

 

_ Backey held back a laugh as he kissed Astro, the spark growing wild. His hands started to wander, traveling down to Astro’s hips and rested there. _

 

_ Astro's screen brightened significantly, wondering where this will go. His hands returned to Backey's shoulders before, and now they were going to Backey's neck, doing the same thing he did... the other time. _

 

“MHH~”

_ Backey made another noise as Astro did so. The spark looked to be an electric blue now… His hands rubbed softly into Astro’s hips, experimenting. _

 

_ Astro felt a cold shiver run up his spine sensors, and he guessed it was from Backey and his hands. It felt weird for Backey to be doing that, and it gave him the strangest feeling in his chest. _

“M… Mmm…”

_ He didn't know what that was supposed to be, but he made the weirdest noise. _

 

_ Backey decided to continue rubbing into Astro’s hips, his hands getting a little warm. He was starting to feel a bit breathless again, but he kept going for a little longer. _

 

_ Astro knew he was getting a bit warm. As in, it felt like he was outside, under the boiling sun. He shivered again, focusing for the first time in a while to watch the spark fly between them. _

 

_ Backey broke away from the kiss this time, attempting to catch his breath again. He rested his hands, stopping his motions on Astro’s hips. He looked up at Astro and watched him with half-lidded eyes. _

 

“H-heh… heheh…”

_ Astro chuckled, still a bit.. winded. Backey having his hands on Astro's hips were... very noticeable. And it got Astro pretty good. His screen was wavering from very bright to bright. _

 

“HEH… WHAT’S GOT YOU LAUGHING?”

_ Backey asked, once he wasn’t as out of breath as before. He could notice Astro’s screen brightness, and it amused him to see it as bright as it was. Although, his was probably bright too. _

 

“Oh, nothing. R-really… just… I don’t know what.”

_ Again, he was probably just trying to play off how embarrassed he was. _

 

“MM… YOU SEEM A LITTLE… FLUSTERED~”

_ Backey teased, rubbing into Astro’s hips again when he said “flustered”. _

 

_ Oh no. No, no, no, no. Flustered was an understatement. And now that Backey had pointed it out, it only got worse. _

_ Astro's screen climbed the brightness scale as he stuttered- _

“W-well, ye-yeah, I am flustered. B-but… I- uh… uhm…”

_ He lost his train of thought. Backey always seemed to know how to get Astro even more flustered or happy than he already was. _

 

“HMMM~? YOU WHAT?”

_ Backey inquired, staring into Astro’s screen as he continued his motion on his hips. While he was teasing, he was also curious as to what Astro would say. _

 

_ Once Astro's thoughts stopped swirling around in his head, he actually noticed Backey's... hand motions. A shiver ran up him, and his screen got, yes, even brighter. Oh boy. _

“I-I-I don’t kn-know! S-sometimes I just… say different filler words t-to… make noise, I g-guess… a-uh…”

_ That was one of the most honest statements Astro has made. _

 

_ Backey chuckled. _

“FAIR ENOUGH. I JUST THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE GONNA SAY SOMETHING IN ADDITION TO BEING FLUSTERED IS ALL. GUESS NOT.”

_ Backey got a bit closer to Astro, shifting over a bit. His hands… he guessed they wanted a reaction of some sort, as they continued to rub Astro’s hips, but also traveled to his thighs a bit as well. _

 

_ Astro looked down, a bit confused on what Backey was doing with his hands. They were just... Astro didn't want to say exploring. But, at the same time, it felt a little... strange. In a... good way...? Astro didn't know if it just felt naturally strange, but it sure got his attention fast, now that he was.... continuing. _

“Wh… What are you doing with your h-hands, Backey?”

_ Astro asked, trying not to laugh. To be honest, it kind of tickled as well. _

 

“MM… TRYING TO MAKE YOU FEEL NICE I GUESS. I DON’T KNOW,”

_ Backey said with a shrug. _

“DO YOU WANT ME TO STOP?”

 

_ God damn it. It was always so hard to answer these types of questions that Backey asked. It felt strange, but... _

“I-I mean… i-it’s not bad, j-just… A-ah… ahm… A little… confusing…? I-I’m guessing? It’s just… a-ahm…”

_ Astro stuttered, tripping over his own audio. _

 

_ “IT’S JUST… WHAT? IS IT ENJOYABLE?” _

_ Backey questioned. If Astro wasn’t enjoying it, he could just stop and do something else. _

 

_ Astro just shyly turned his head and gave a very small, curt nod, not wanting to show his blazing screen. _

 

“HM, WELL, ALRIGHT. GUESS I’LL CONTINUE THEN~”

_ Backey smirked. His hands continued to gently rub into Astro, his hands still wandering, still exploring, still experimenting. His hands went up to Astro’s padding on his sides, just wanting to see if Astro liked that or not. _

 

_ The feeling that went through Astro was... warming. It felt nice, a sort of... comforting feeling. He didn't know if it was just Backey having his hands there, or if it was just his battery getting low, but he was starting to get a bit... sleepy. _

_ His screen flickered to show a heavy blink. He suddenly started to lean towards Backey, soon laying his head on Backey's shoulder, face-down. _

 

_ Backey didn’t really expect Astro to do this, but he just chuckled and let it happen. _

“COMFORTABLE?”

_ Backey asked, continuing to caress his sides. _

 

_ Astro nodded, trying not to look too sleepy. _

“Yeah… just.... It makes me feel warm…”

_ Astro mumbled. The heart that once faded returned, a bit more purple than last time. _

 

“HEHE… ARE YOU GONNA FALL ASLEEP ON ME? BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE IT,”

_ Backey said, a bit amused. It was cute to see Astro like this. His own heart that had faded returned as well, a bit blue. _

 

_ Astro's head jerked up, seeming to be trying and stay awake. _

“N-no, I won’t fall asleep! I’ll just…”

_ He trailed off, seeming to have another wave of tiredness fall over him. The warmth swimming through his body really was soothing. _

_ He seemingly woke up again- _

“I’ll just stay awake…”

 

_ Backey giggled. _

“YOU’RE CUTE, YOU KNOW THAT, ASTRO?”

_ He gave Astro a small kiss, wanting to release some of the sudden affection that’s bubbling up in his chest. _

“REALLY CUTE…”

 

_ Astro giggled, his screen brightening for a moment. _

“I know…”

_ He paused for a moment. Then, he started to stutter- _

“I-I mean, y-you think so? R-really? Thank you, I-I didn’t know you… thought that way… about me…”

_ Wow, he really was tired. Of course he knew that Backey thought that way about him! The way I even said "I know" Ack, dangit-! _

 

_ Backey snorted, holding back a laugh. _

“ASTRO… YOU’RE A DORK.”

_ Backey had to laugh internally. At least now he knew what to do if he wanted to make Astro sleepy. He stopped his motions on Astro’s sides, leaning in to give Astro a hug, wanting some closeness. Wanting some physical touch. _

“BUT YOU’RE MY DORK. A CUTE ONE TOO. AND HANDSOME… THE WHOLE PACKAGE.”

 

_ Astro was about to laugh, but the words that Backey said had soaked into him. His screen very, very quickly brightened and he curtly turned his screen away, blushing like he had gotten a sunburn. That was impossible, though. _

“Th-thank you…”

_ He mumbled, darting his eyes from the floor to Backey to the floor again. _

 

“HEHE… YOU’RE WELCOME.”

_ Backey looked up fondly to Astro’s screen. He found it a bit funny how these sort of compliments still made Astro this flustered… _

“GUESS YOU’RE MORE AWAKE NOW, HUH?”

 

“I mean… kind of…”

_ Astro shrugged, still not looking at Backey's direction. He didn't even realize his behavior. He was totally embarrassed. _

 

_ Backey smiled, affection stirring up in him. It was almost unfair as to how cute Astro was. _

“HEHE… WELL, FROM HOW BRIGHT YOUR SCREEN IS RIGHT NOW, I’D SAY SO.”

_ He couldn’t help but point it out. It seemed like Astro got a bit shy when his appearance was complemented by him. _

 

_ Astro nodded, swallowing. Not knowing what to do, he just kind of... lied back to the wall. Backey was still kind of hugging him, so he was still a bit stiff. _

 

_ Backey nuzzled into Astro’s chest, not having much more to say. If he listened closely, he could hear the energy pulsing from Astro’s power surge. It was the closest thing they had to a heartbeat. He sighed. This was nice. _

 

_ Astro felt himself tense up when Backey did this, but he soon relaxed. He then put a hand on Backey's back, rubbing it lovingly. He sighed, the heart growing brighter and more visible on his screen. _

 

_ Backey felt himself relax as he listened to Astro’s heartbeat, enjoying Astro’s motions into his back. He started to make some sort of noise that was… a little hard for him to describe. He hadn’t made this noise before. At least, he doesn’t remember ever doing it. It was like a rumbling noise was coming out of his speakers, almost like a… purr. _

 

_ Astro felt Backey's purr vibrate through his chest. What the...? What was he doing? Was he... purring? Astro looked down to Backey, a surprised and confused look on his face. He cocked his head to the side like a curious dog. _

“Backey…? What are… you doing?”

 

_ Well… that was a good question. I mean, it’s kind of obvious that he was… purring, but he’d never done so before. This was weird to him too. _

“UHH… PURRING…?”

_ He said, embarrassed. As soon as it started, it stopped. Ah. He guessed that... he didn’t have much control over it…? As soon as he was knocked out of his relaxed state a bit, he stopped. Huh. _

 

“Heh, yeah, Backey, you were purring…”

_ Astro nodded, his tone more amused than before. To hear Backey purr... well, first of all, it was adorable. Second, he was still wondering how he could even purr, since he knew his vocal sound box wasn't designed to make repetitive, lower notes like that. Backey's voice was a bit... higher than Astro's. Third of all, well... it was music to Astro's microphones. Hm, even Astro knew that was cheesy, and he didn't even say it aloud. _

 

“Y-YEAH… I UH, DIDN’T KNOW I COULD DO THAT. HUH… THE… THE MORE YOU KNOW, I GUESS.”

_ He laughed awkwardly, then sank his face back into Astro’s chest, hiding his quickly brightening screen. _

 

_ Astro felt a playful feeling rise up like smoke around him. He grinned, or rather, would have been grinning. _

“Y’know, felines purr whenever they feel content. I mean, there are other reasons too, like… affection, love, joy… Is my chest like a pillow for you~?”

_ He asked, tentatively swirling a spiral on the back of Backey. _

 

_ Backey at first flinched at Astro’s touch, but then relaxed, leaning into it a little. _

“U-UH… M-MAYBE…?”

_ Backey stammered, his screen continuing to brighten, still buried in Astro’s chest. _

 

_ Astro chuckled, continuing to swirl his finger into Backey's back. _

“Heh, that’s… nice to know.”

_ He paused, still not done teasing Backey. _

“Well, I wonder if you’ll continue… heheh, lil’ cat… You’re my little cat~”

_ He sung, giggling after. _

 

_ It was funny how easily the tables could turn. Backey flustered Astro, but then something happened and Astro ended up flustering Backey. He supposed it was fair, but it didn’t make this any less embarrassing. _

“W-WELL, I D-DON’T REALLY HAVE MUCH C-CONTROL OVER IT. Y-YOU’D HAVE TO M-MAKE ME…”

_ The motion into his back was starting to get a bit distracting… His screen felt like it was burning, listening to Astro tease him like this. _

 

“Can’t control it? Well, what do I have to do to get you to purr? Do you want some yarn? Or scratches behind your neck?”

_ Astro asked jokingly. This was fun. _

 

“N-NO! I-I’M NOT A LITERAL CAT, ASTRO!”

_ Even though he knew he wasn’t being serious with those questions, he still felt the need to deny them, feeling defensive. Ugh… why did his body decide now was the time to do this? Well… at least it wasn’t in front of the crew. He didn’t really wanna be teased by them too. This was embarrassing enough… _

“I-I MEAN, J-JUST THINK OF WHAT WE WERE DOING BEFORE. YOU KNOW, RELAXING? AND UH… BEING TOUCHED LIKE BEFORE. THAT. BEING CARESSED SOFTLY SOMEWHERE I-IS NICE…”

_ Why is he even telling Astro this? Does he even want to purr again? Good grief… _

 

“Oh really~? Well then, does my little cat want a little rub? Hmm~?”

_ Astro giggled, then, he put his arm around Backey's torso and rubbed it with rhythm, like he was, indeed, stroking an animal. He giggled again. _

 

_ Backey didn’t know whether to tense up or relax. I mean, the way he was being touched felt nice, but now it was just embarrassing to him. Either way, he was having a hard time relaxing. _

“ASTROOOO…”

_ Backey groaned. Astro was on the right track, but Backey was a bit too flustered at the moment to relax enough to purr or anything. _

 

“Whaaat~? Is it not working? Alriiight, I’ll stop.”

_ Astro did, letting go of Backey and slumping down on the wall. He had a funny look on his face, like he was waiting for Backey to explode. Not literally. _

 

_ Backey was a bit too distracted to notice whatever position they were in at the moment, and his head was still buried in Astro’s chest. Astro would probably have to point it out, or whatever position they’re in would have to become noticeable in some way if Backey was to notice it. _

“N-NO, I WANT YOU TO C-CONTINUE, JUST… UGH…”

_ Why did this have to be so embarrassing…? _

 

_ Astro chuckled, then he noticed…. Oh boy. Astro's legs were parted, both on one side of Backey, while Backey's legs were scrunched up under himself, close to... Astro swallowed, but he didn't say anything. His voice sounded less confident when he spoke- _

“O-oh, really? W-well then, uh, well, I guess you’re just a little grumpy then? All cats love pats unless they’re grumpy…”

_ I sound like a five-year-old. Maybe I should stop teasing now, the moment passed... _

 

“WELL, IT’S HARD FOR ME TO RELAX IF YOU’RE TEASING ME SO MUCH…”

_ To be honest, he was starting to get annoyed. He finally lifted his head up to look at Astro, but still didn’t notice their position. He shifted a bit, probably making the position they were in worse. _

 

_ Astro squeaked, his legs squishing up to Backey's sides on accident. He blushed, his screen quickly flickering brighter. He tripped over his words- _

“W-w-well, I- uhh, I guess that would be a-a… a logical- uh, reason f-for you to not… p-purr…”

 

“MHM…”

_ When Backey felt Astro’s legs rub up against him, he grew confused. _

“WAIT, WHAT ARE YOU-”

_ He finally looked down, following where Astro’s legs were until- Ah. Again? His screen started to climb the brightness scale, just when he was starting to calm down. _

“UH… WANT ME TO MOVE FROM THERE?”

 

_ What type of question was that? Of course Astro wanted him to move! .......Didn't he...? _

_ Astro stayed silent, having no clue on what to say. His screen was still blazing, and he was getting pretty warm as well. His legs had tried to retract to his body, but the just got tighter around Backey. Astro groaned and slapped his head in his hands quickly. _

 

_ Backey wasn’t really sure what to do. I mean, Astro wasn’t giving him an answer, and his legs tightening around him just made him stay put, stuck. He just waited for Astro to give his answer, warming up in the meantime. _

 

“I… I-ah… uh… don’t know…”

_ Astro knew he was getting angry at himself. I mean, it shouldn't be that hard to give the answer he wanted, but... he didn't know…. _

 

“O-OH… UH…”

_ So… he didn’t want him to move? At least a little? _

“W-WELL… WHATEVER YOU PREFER, I’M FINE WITH.”

_ It happened a little out of blue, so his brain was a little jumbled. He wasn’t really sure if he wanted to move or not either… I mean, he couldn't really move anyway unless Astro let him go with his legs. _

 

_ Astro's legs were trembling slightly, probably from all the nervousness he's having. Astro didn't know whether to shrug or laugh or cry or scream or smile... He just stayed silent. His gaze slowly fell on Backey's screen, staring at it with uncertainty and embarrassment. _

 

_ Backey still felt… unsure, but this no doubt made him curious. I mean, they had… kissed each other’s chests before, but they didn’t really… explored… down there. He had to wonder what it was like… probably more intense than the chest. I mean, in order for them to do what they did before, they had to turn their sensory up pretty high… so… would it already be kinda… intense? It made Backey’s screen brighten thinking about it… Well… he could ask Astro what he thought. They both needed to consent to it if they were… going to go any further. He did his best to gather up his courage. Welp, no better time than this, he guessed…? _

“UH… ASTRO…? WOULD Y-YOU MIND IF I-I GOT… C-CLOSER? TO THERE…?”

_ He stared into Astro’s screen, to see Astro’s reaction. He had a feeling that… this question would… fluster him, to say the least. Although, that’s probably an understatement. _

 

_......What. Astro stared at Backey in pure shock, his screen immediately lighting up the whole room. He spoke without thinking first- _

“Y-you want to g-go there?! I-I don’t… a-ah-”

_ He tried to gather his thoughts, stressing himself to find an answer. _

“You- .....wh… what-”

_ That didn't work. _

 

“I-I MEAN, W-WE DON’T HAVE TO! I J-JUST… I DON’T KNOW…”

_ Backey's screen was probably lighting up the room too with how bright it was. _

 

_ Astro paused. If they... were they about to.... _

“D-do… do you want… to…?”

_ He asked, very unconfident in his tone. _

 

“U-UM… YES…?”

_ He said nervously. He didn’t even know how he managed to ask his question in the first place, he just… did it. _

 

“W-well… u-uhm… okay…”

_ Did I just say okay? Well, it's too late now. Oh God... _

 

“S-SO… YOU’RE ALRIGHT WITH IT?”

_ Backey asked, just to be sure. _

 

_ Astro, seemingly not having control over his mind, simply nodded. His screen didn't change it's brightness, either. _

 

“MM… ALRIGHT.”

_ Backey tried to move, but Astro’s legs were still tight around Backey’s sides. _

“UH, CAN YOU MOVE YOUR LEGS A BIT?”

 

“O-oh! Y-yeah, sorry about that…”

_ He let his legs release their grip on Backey. The way they were sprawled out now beside Backey's sides... Astro tried not to think or look at it. _

 

“I-IT’S ALRIGHT…”

_ Backey scooted a bit closer, before getting on top of Astro. He sat there a moment, legs on both sides of him, just looking at Astro. This… this is happening now. Or, at least, was about to. Oh boy. _

 

_ Astro felt himself being pushed up against the wall. He shivered, getting extremely nervous. Afraid, even. But, what was there to be afraid of? The question was in Astro's mind as Backey shifted. His hands almost instinctively went up and rested on Backey's shoulders, having nowhere else to go. _

_ He felt like he needed to say something, but there was nothing to be said. He just stared up at Backey nervously. _

 

_ Backey rested his hands on top of Astro’s hips. This… This wasn’t gonna be like last time, where they were taking turns. This time… This time they would do this… together. _

“R-READY?”

 

_ No, but yes. That was all that Astro could think of. _

“U-uh… s-sure…”

_ He stammered, feeling a wave of nausea pass through him. Either that, or he was really just getting himself shaken. _

 

_ Backey nodded. _

“O-OK… JUST TELL ME IF YOU WANT ME TO STOP FOR WHATEVER REASON.”

_ He shifted a little into a more comfortable position, and then… started to rub into Astro. He immediately felt a wave of warmth go through him as he did so. _

 

_ Astro squeaked again, his legs accidentally sucker punching both of Backey's sides. _

“Oh! S-sorry, love!”

_ He stammered, struggling to speak. _

 

_ Backey winced, but otherwise, he was fine. Just felt a bit winded from getting the breath knocked out of him. Ouch. _

“UM, I-IT’S OK, SWEETHEART…”

_ He paused for a moment, trying to breathe a bit before continuing. _

 

“J-jeez, I guess I’m just… s-so nervous…”

_ Astro shrugged, turning his screen away from Backey. He had started to slide down the wall, and he didn't even notice until he was on the floor. The way Backey sat on him was just... very... distracting. _

 

“Y-YEAH… I-I GUESS SO… I HAVE TO ADMIT, I’M A LITTLE NERVOUS TOO…

_ Backey paused, and once he had his breath back, he continued, giving Astro a soft look. _

“WANNA TRY AGAIN?”

 

_ Astro covered his head with his hands, his screen's light, peeking through his fingers. _

_ His voice was muffled when he spoke- _

“I-I guess? I mean, it’s a little late now… t-to go back, I mean…”

_ Why were they doing this again? Astro didn't know, but he knew he couldn't just pause time and walk away. No, he was here, doing this now. _

 

“WELL, YEAH, I SUPPOSE SO…”

_ Backey chuckled. _

“JUST UH… TRY AND CONTROL YOUR LEGS THIS TIME, PLEASE.”

 

“I-I’ll try…”

_ Astro laughed after he spoke. Well, maybe this time he'd have more... control. He slightly doubted it, though. _

 

_ Backey nodded, getting back into position and then, after a pause, started to continue his motions from before. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be hit this time. _

 

_ Astro froze, his whole body tensing up. Woah. This was new. Well, obviously it'd be new, but still... A wave he couldn't describe crawled up his back, and it sent shivers back down. _

_ He didn't make any noises, thank God, but it was for sure a bit overwhelming. _

 

_ Backey felt himself getting warm. He tried to set a steady pace, trying to control himself a bit. He wasn’t really making any noise so far either, so he tried to take it up a notch, going a bit quicker than the slow pace he established. Not by too much, though. _

 

_ Astro still didn't really know what Backey was doing, but whatever it was... it was working. He held back a sound as another shiver ran through him. The grip he had on Backey's shoulders grew ever so tighter. _

 

_ Backey had to hold back a bit of sound as well. He figured he was doing an alright job so far. He felt a shiver of his own go up his spine as he continued at the pace he had set. On one of his motions, he accidentally went a little harder than before, and could tell the hot pink heart on his screen was probably shivering at this point. _

 

“H-HmaaHh!”

_ Well, he couldn't really control it. He looked up at Backey to see his reaction, a shiver quickly following his noise. _

 

_ Backey’s screen brightened at this noise, before trying that motion again. That f-felt… really nice. _

“HHhHAH~”

_ Backey shivered, before continuing this motion repeatedly. _

 

“B-Backey, wh-haaAhhh… w-what are you doiihIng?”

_ Astro asked, his grip on Backey quickly growing tighter. Astro could tell he didn't really have control over what he was doing, him nor Backey, but it was all so overwhelming. _

 

“T-TRYING TO- H-HAAH~ MAKE US F-FEEL G-GOOD-”

_ Backey struggled to say. _

“WH-WHAT? D-DO YOU- HHH~ NEeD ME TO SLOW D-DOWN?”

_ Backey looked down at Astro, eyes lidded. He probably had multiple hearts on his screen at the moment. _

 

“N-no, it’s j-just… I dihiidn’t know th-that… y-you c-could do th-thaahht…”

_ Astro said, trying to keep his voice at least semi-steady. There had to be multiple hearts on his screen as well, there couldn't not have been. _

 

“W-WELL, I GUESS I CA- HHH~ CAN-”

_ Backey continued at the new pace he had set, when suddenly he had an idea. While still doing his motions, he lowered his head down and kissed Astro’s chest. _

 

“HaAAhAAHHHAAA~!”

_ Astro didn't expect this, his hands letting go of Backey and scrunching up under him. A huge wave of pleasure ran through his body, causing him to moan like that. _

“BaAHhHHAhckey~! Wh-WHAaAht a-aAAre you doiIing?!”

_ He asked again, not really having control over his voice anymore. _

 

_ Woah. Even though Backey knew that Astro would probably have an intense reaction to combining these two things, he still didn’t expect that. He broke the kiss for a second to say- _

“I HHHHAD TH-THE IDEA T-TO COMBINE IT TO WHERE YOU COULD- HHhHaH~ E-EXPERIENCE BOTH OF THESE THINGS AT THE SAME TIME-”

_ After that, he ducked his head and went back to kissing Astro’s chest, knowing he liked it. He’d probably only stop if Astro told him to. _

 

“W-well it’s PooOowoerful~! HAhahAhhhhh~!”

_ Astro took a breath in to try and catch it, but he couldn't do that efficiently. _

_ He tried to get his bearings, but he still felt overwhelmed by what Backey was doing. _

 

_ Backey didn’t reply, only making muffled moaning noises as he kissed Astro’s chest. He upped the intensity on the kiss. He kinda wished that Astro would do this to him too, but he knew that Astro probably wasn’t capable of that at the moment. He just grinded a little harder a few times to give himself some more pleasure. _

 

_ Astro still made many noises; some out loud, others were muffled from Astro's attempts to do so. He was now trembling, multiple hearts all over his screen. His hands gripped back onto Backey's shoulders, and since they were closer, he could get a better grip on them... which meant it hurt more. Astro didn't mean to dig his hands into Backey like a cat on curtains, but he really couldn't control it right now. He really couldn't control anything right now. _

 

_ Backey winced at Astro’s grip on his shoulders, but he mostly tried to ignore it. He knew Astro probably couldn’t control it. He took the kiss up a notch one more time before he would have to break away to breathe. He tried his best to really pleasure Astro. _

 

“B-BAaAAckeY! HaAAAAhHAHhhAhhh~ Wh-WhahAHH StOHAHhp!”

_ Astro was starting to yell, his body shivering aggressively. His legs suddenly wrapped around Backey, pulling him in quickly. His screen suddenly flashed different colors, exactly the way it did last time. Except it lasted longer. _

_ After about thirty seconds of Astro violently shaking, he fell limp, as if he had passed out. He didn't, though, because he made a small noise- _

“...U-ugh......”

 

_ Backey had pulled away from the kiss to breathe. He had to grind a few more times since he was a bit behind, not being pleasured as much as Astro, but his screen soon started to flash as well as Astro pulled him in. It didn’t last as long as Astro’s, so he then just got to watch as Astro finished up. He grew a little concerned when Astro fell limp, but his worries were slightly soothed when Astro made a noise. Nevertheless, Backey had to ask- _

“A-ARE… *pant* YOU ALRIGHT, A-ASTRO?”

 

“...S-sure…”

_ Astro weakly mumbled. A small wave of pleasure fell over him, for some reason very strong, when Backey shifted down, rubbing up against Astro again. _

“HHhah…”

 

_ Backey hadn’t even noticed he’d shifted down, so when Astro made a noise he was a bit surprised. He moved up a bit, and just decided to rest his head on Astro’s chest. _

“S-SORRY, I DIDN’T MEAN TO R-RUB AGAINST YOU AGAIN.”

 

“It’s.... It’s okay…”

_ Astro started to regain his voice, as well as try to regain his breath. Huh, maybe I was close to passing out. _

 

“S-SO UH… DID I DO A GOOD JOB? AT PLEASURING YOU?”

_ Backey asked. He thought that he did pretty well for his first time doing that, at least… _

 

“Y-you did… great… Backey… It was… great…”

_ Astro gasped, huffing like he just ran a marathon. _

_ He still had a needy feeling in his chest and.. there... so he wondered if Backey did do a good job. Well, he did! But, maybe... maybe Astro didn't satisfy himself... _

 

_ Backey smiled. _

“H-HEH… I’M GLAD. YOU DID GREAT AS WELL, ASTRO.”

_ But… Backey still felt that longing feeling in his chest as well as… down there. It confused him, because, shouldn’t he feel satisfied now? I mean, they already finished… _

 

“How… c-could I have done good? I-I just stayed there and… d-did nothing… heheh…”

_ He chuckled weakly. He then tried to sit up, making Backey scoot down onto Astro's thighs. _

 

_ Backey blushed, not expecting Astro to move him onto his thighs, even if it was probably on accident. _

“W-WELL, YOU MADE ME FEEL G-GOOD, SO I’D SAY YOU PARTICIPATED AT L-LEAST…”

_ Backey rubbed the back of his neck as he said this. Maybe it was silly to say it back to Astro, but he wanted to compliment him too. _

 

_ Astro smiled shyly, turning his head to look down at the floor. The blush on his face had grown again, taking the compliment to heart. He didn't know why, but he did. _

_ The feeling he had was suddenly very noticeable now, more than before. It was similar to the one he had when... when they did this before, but it was much stronger, and in more that one place... _

 

_ Backey could feel that feeling too… Another round couldn’t hurt, would it? Even though… he should feel satisfied… it couldn’t hurt. Maybe it was normal to have more than one round? Maybe… _

“UM… WOULD YOU… BE ALRIGHT WITH DOING IT AGAIN…? I-I JUST… IT FELT REALLY NICE, AND I… I WANT IT AGAIN. I-I MEAN, WE DON’T HAVE TO IF YOU DON’T FEEL UP TO IT, JUST… IF YOU’D LIKE TO.”

_ Backey asked shyly. _

 

_ Astro didn't say anything for a few seconds. It was... almost like he read Astro's thoughts. He did want to... go again, but... he didn't know if he should give himself this. But, Backey was the one who wanted to... so wouldn't he be doing it for him? He was confusing himself. _

_ But, when Backey, well, pointed it out, the feeling got stronger by tenfold. He tried to shake it off, but it clung to him like a bug in his system. _

“U-uh… you… You really want to?”

_ He asked, still having a bit of trouble catching his breath. If they were going to do this again, he'd need to... gather his energy, first. _

 

_ Backey nodded. _

“IF YOU WANT TO. AND, UH… I’D LIKE IT IF WE KINDA… SWITCHED ROLES, I GUESS? LIKE… YOU… DO IT TO ME, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. ALTHOUGH, IF YOU DON’T FEEL UP TO IT, I CAN JUST DO IT AGAIN.”

 

“A-ahm, I-I’ll try… b-but it felt really… n-nice when you did it…”

_ He said, his screen getting bright. Not but because of what he said, but because of what he was about to do. _

_ He thought for a moment. Well, he didn't know if he could... copy... Backey's actions exactly, but he might do another thing that will give him the same reaction as it did to Astro. _

 

“HEHE… THANKS…”

_ Backey said, his screen getting brighter. He had to wonder how Astro would do it… and if it would make him feel even nicer. _

 

_ Astro gave a curt nod, his screen getting brighter. He waited for Backey to get off of them so they could.... continue. _

 

_ Backey got off of Astro, then sat beside him, waiting for Astro to do whatever he had to do before starting. _

 

_ Astro looked to Backey for a second, preparing himself. He took a breath to relax himself, then he flipped over, almost expertly rolling over onto Backey. He didn't hit him or anything, just one fell swoop and he was... straddling Backey. Hm, it was cooler before Astro added that part. Then he actually saw it and blushed. He was, indeed, straddling Backey, his legs on either side and under themselves. Since Astro kinda rolled over, his hands were on either side of Backey, clinging to the wall. _

 

_ Backey’s screen brightened even more. He was usually the one to be on top of or straddling Astro… It was a little weird to see it the other way around, but… he liked it. _

 

_ Astro chuckled in embarrassment, not knowing how to respond. _

“Wh-what do y-you want me to do?”

_ He asked, still not really confident in his own plan. _

 

“UM… JUST KINDA DO WHAT I WAS DOING…? WHATEVER YOU THINK WOULD FEEL NICE, I GUESS…”

_ Backey replied, shrugging. _

 

_ Astro didn't hesitate like he thought he would. Right when Backey finished his sentence, he leaned right over and kissed Backey, the spark growing stronger by the second. His hands went from the wall to Backey's chest, rubbing on it quite quickly. _

 

“MMPH-!”

_ Backey didn’t expect Astro to do something so quickly, so he made a bit of noise. But, he melted into the kiss, enjoying Astro’s caresses. _

“MM…”

 

_ Astro was already making the kiss strong, the equivalent to... uh... making out for humans. Astro quickly dismissed the thought as he continued, unfocusing his vision from the world and only focusing on Backey. Just him. _

 

_ Backey felt his heart soar as they essentially made out, the spark zapping around between their screens. Backey tuned out the things around them, also focusing just on Astro. _

 

_ Astro continued to make the spark stronger, focusing on the aggressive spark. One of his hands slowly trailed down Backey's body, making small spirals wherever it went. _

 

“MMH~”

_ Backey couldn’t help but let out a pleased sound as the spark got stronger, watching as the spark danced between their screens. He leaned into wherever Astro touched, a shiver going down his spine. His hands came up to rest on Astro’s body, around his sides, not really knowing what much else to do. _

 

_ Astro's hand went lower and lower, starting to get close to Backey's waist. The other hand stayed on Backey's chest, rubbing in gently. Astro felt a wave of what he presumed would be a simulation of adrenaline rush through him. _

 

_ Backey felt his heart- or power surge- race as Astro continued to go lower, getting tantalizingly close. He occasionally let out small noises, although a bit muffled. Wherever Astro touched felt really warm. _

 

_ Astro's hand seemed to find its destination, and Astro didn't really imagine where. He just rubbed gently, delicately almost. He pulled back from the kiss to breath, and he watched Backey with a drool gaze. _

 

“HAH~”

_ Backey let out a soft moan, then tried to breathe a bit as the kiss was broken. A wave of warmth went through him, his body shivering a little. He stared, eyes half-lidded, up at Astro. It almost made it more intense by watching him. _

 

“Heh, y-you like that, eh?”

_ Astro asked, his voice a little shaky. Instead of using two fingers, he used his whole hand to rub on Backey, a little harder this time. _

 

“HHHAH~ Y-YES…”

_ Backey answered, voice about as shaky, if not more shaky than Astro’s. He felt a small wave of pleasure go through him. A couple of hearts started to appear on his screen, accompanying his shaky one. Astro’s voice… right now, it was music to his microphones. It made him shiver when he heard him talk in that sultry tone. _

 

_ Astro laughed quietly- _

“W-well, it surely sounds like it~”

_ He gave a peck to Backey's cheek just to see his screen brighten up. _

 

_ Backey’s screen did indeed brighten up, although that doesn’t mean it that it wasn’t already quite bright before. _

“HHHHEHEH~”

_ It was a little hard for Backey to laugh right now, but Astro’s small kiss made him giggle. _

 

_ Astro rubbed a bit harder, stiffening his fingers so that it would be more pleasurable. His hand moved away from Backey's chest and helped Astro's other hand, now using both. He leaned his head down and started to kiss Backey's chest, the spark smaller than when he kissed Backey. _

 

“HhHHhAAHH~ A-A-ASTRO~”

_ Another wave of pleasure washed over Backey, a lot stronger than the last one. Backey trembled under Astro’s touch, gripping Astro’s sides a bit more with his hands. _

 

“What? Is it too much for you~?

_ Astro asked when he leaned back. He slowed down just to rile Backey up. _

 

“N-NO! HHH~ A-ASTRO, PLEASE, DON’T S-SLOW D-DOWN-”

_ Backey begged. He was shaking, gaze pleading. _

 

“Heheh, I-I knew you can take it…”

_ Astro rubbed way harder than he had before, almost digging his fingers into Backey. He leaned back down and kissed Backey's chest, the spark a bit more wild. _

 

“HHhHHHAhhAHahhHH~”

_ Backey let out a loud moan. His hands clutched to Astro’s sides like a lifeline, shaking violently. It was a little hard for Backey to think, and he just hoped his grip didn’t hurt that much. Huge waves of pleasure were going through him now. _

 

_ Astro let out a small giggle while he kissed Backey. He decided to rub a bit faster, his fingers starting to feel a bit fatigued. _

 

“AAASsSssSTROoO~ HHhhHHahhHHHAHahH~”

_ Backey felt pressure build up within him, and he knew what it meant. He was on the verge of what was now familiar to him. The pleasure was almost too much for him, but yet he couldn’t get enough. He didn’t ever want this to stop. _

 

_ Astro continued, a strange feeling rising around him. It was the longing one he had before, but he guessed it had progressed so much, that it became a new feeling. _

_ He kissed a bit more aggressively, moving his head a bit so that all of Backey's chest could experience it. _

 

“HHhhahHHHhahHHHhhhHAAhhhahHHHH~!”

_ Backey’s screen started to flash, and he shook quite violently. He pulled Astro closer to him, wrapping his legs around him, squeezing him. It was one of the most intense feelings that he’s had in his life. He shook for about thirty seconds, about as long as Astro did, before he fell limp. _

“....HGH…”

_ A weak groaning noise could be heard. _

 

_ Astro stopped everything, looking up in surprise to watch Backey. The way he shook and moaned... it made Astro a bit jealous, even though he's already done it before. He waited patiently for Backey to finish, curious to wonder if he did the same thing. Once Backey finished his episode, Astro asked- _

“I’m… guessing you’re done?”

 

“...Y… YES…”

_ Backey mumbled weakly. He was breathing quite heavily, but he laughed a little. _

“TH… THAT… THAT W-WAS ONE OF THE B-BEST FEELINGS I-I’VE EVER HAD…”

_ Backey looked up to Astro. Who knew Astro was so good at this…? _

 

_ Astro blushed, his screen brightening a small bit. He smiled- _

_ “I-I’m glad I was a-able to give that t-to you…” _

_ The feeling he had wouldn't go away now. He started to get a faint hint of how to get rid of it, but he didn't know if he wanted to... _

 

“Y-YEAH… TH-THANKS, ASTRO…”

_ Backey tried to regain some of his energy for a moment, before he asked a question, suddenly realizing something. _

“W-WAIT… YOU… YOU DIDN’T GET TO SATISFY YOURSELF, DID YOU? YOU WERE JUST… PLEASING ME THE WHOLE TIME…”

 

_ Astro blushed more- _

“W-well, that’s t-true… You were th-the one who asked for it…”

_ He shrugged, looking down to his hands on the floor. _

 

“I… THINK I CAN GO ONE MORE TIME… JUST TO PLEASE YOU…”

_ Backey said, a tired but determined look in his eyes. _

“I-IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO DO?”

 

“Wh-what?! N-no, Backey, you don’t have to, y-you look tired…”

_ Astro stuttered, a guilty feeling looming within him. _

 

“N-NO, I’M FINE! I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE YOU UNSATISFIED…”

_ Backey insisted. _

 

_ Astro had a doubtful look on his face, still watching Backey from above. He got off of him and sat on the floor. Astro sighed- _

“If… If you really want to… I don’t need it…”

 

“I WANT TO. AND… I CAN DO SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T TAKE UP AS MUCH ENERGY FROM ME. THAT WAY, YOU WON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ME.”

_ Backey said as he flipped over onto Astro. _

“IS THERE ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR YOU’D LIKE?”

 

_ Astro was surprised that Backey literally got onto him. He leaned back, surprised to see Backey close to him again. He chuckled- _

“N-nothing that I can think of… No…”

_ It was weird for them to not be close to the wall, where they were propped up while they... did what they did. Astro wondered if they should move first. _

 

“MM, ALRIGHT. GUESS I’LL JUST DO WHATEVER I’D LIKE TO DO TO YOU~”

_ Backey said, cupping Astro’s face with one of his hands. _

“...BUT, WE MIGHT NEED TO MOVE BACK TO THE WALL FIRST. UNLESS YOU WANT TO DO IT HERE…?”

 

“U-uh…”

_ Astro swallowed, caught off guard by Backey's sudden seductive voice. _

_ “W-we should move to the wall.” _

 

“ALRIGHTY.”

_ Backey got off of Astro so he could move over to the wall. _

“GO ON AHEAD~”

 

_ Astro nodded, his screen flickering an edge brighter. He scooted his body to the wall with his arms, hitting it with a small thump. He watched Backey and waited for Backey to join him. _

 

_ Backey moved over to Astro, getting on top of him again, straddling him. _

“READY?”

 

_ Astro took a deep breath, calming himself as much as he could. He silently nodded- _

“As I’ll ever be…”

 

_ As soon as Astro finished his sentence, Backey wasted no time in getting started. He leaned forward and kissed Astro, quickly making the kiss strong. His hands went to Astro’s chest, already rubbing it. _

 

_ Astro made no sound when Backey kissed him, he just had a surprised look on his face. It fizzled away when the kiss continued, Astro starting to help make the spark grow. _

 

_ Backey’s hands trailed down a little, bit by bit, tracing lightly. He continued to make the spark more aggressive, taking a bit more dominance this time around. _

 

_ Astro knew Backey had got ideas from what Astro did to him, so he had a big hunch to what he'd do next. He didn't count on it fully, however, since he knew Backey always had a surprise hidden up his sleeve. Or, well, figurative sleeves. Astro let Backey do what he wanted, submitting to it. _

 

_ After he started to get a bit breathless he pulled back, watching as the spark broke off. Backey decided to try out part of what Astro did to him, his hands eventually reaching down to their destination. It was a bit predictable, but he had something new to try out later. He watched Astro as he started to rub with his hands. _

 

_ Astro didn't expect Backey to go with both hands already, but he was pleasantly surprised. A shiver sped up him, and he did his best to hold back a moan. _

“MmmHhahhhh-”

_ His arms went stiff as he tried to keep himself steady, pushing on the wall a bit. _

 

_ Backey chuckled. _

“DIDN’T EXPECT THAT, DID YOU?”

_ Backey asked, rubbing in a bit harder with his hands. _

 

“N-Noahahahhh, I did nohaht-”

_ Astro said as steadily as he could, his legs slightly scrunching up when Backey rubbed harder. _

 

_ Backey smirked, lowering his screen to Astro’s chest. _

“HEHE~ TRY NOT TO GET TOO WORKED UP BY THIS, I STILL HAVE SOMETHING I WANT TO DO… JUST FIGURED I’D GIVE YOU A TASTE OF YOUR OWN MEDICINE~”

_ Backey then pressed a kiss to Astro’s chest, trying not to make it too aggressive as he continued to rub with his hands. _

 

“D-DooAhhhaahh~!”

_ Astro tried to question Backey's words, but he was quickly cut off by his own noise. His arms visibly trembled as he tried to quiet himself, though, there was no reason to. _

 

_ Backey upped the intensity of the kiss a bit, trying to make Astro get a little louder. He liked listening to Astro’s moans, and he didn’t want Astro to quiet himself. _

 

“G-GyahhahHAhhh~! B… BahhAhhckey…”

_ Astro shivered, his hands suddenly on Backey's shoulders. He looked down at Backey and watched his unfocused screen, not knowing what else to focus on. _

 

“HEHEH~ THAT’S MORE LIKE IT~”

_ Backey said, breaking away for a moment to look at Astro before moving back in. He let the spark continue, before the spark started to trail down his chest a bit. He let it break, before moving his head down. He quit rubbing Astro with his hands, instead opting to use them to spread Astro’s legs apart a bit. _

“NOW… FOR SOMETHING NEW.”

_ He then let the spark connect to where he was rubbing, at about the same intensity as he was at before. _

 

_ Astro had a whole new energy flow through him, and it was so powerful, so pleasuring..... Astro shook greatly- _

“HaaAAOoAAhhhh~! B-BAaaHaackey, wh… whaAAht are y-you… d-doing?”

_ He seemed to ask that a lot when this happened, but it was the first and only thing that came to mind. The grip on Backey's shoulders got ever so slightly tighter. _

 

“ISN’T IT OBVIOUS~? YOU KEEP ASKING THAT QUESTION, BUT YOU CAN SEE WHAT I’M DOING, ASTRO~”

_ Backey answered, before reconnecting the spark. He upped the intensity a bit, his hands going to Astro’s hips and rubbing there. _

 

_ Astro tried to calm himself down, but there was no point with what they were doing. He tried to speak- _

“B-Backey, I- AhHAHHHHAhhhh- I-I’ve n-never seen you like thihiHiS before!”

_ It was so much more... confident then he had known Backey to be. Well, that didn't mean he didn't enjoy it… _

 

“HEHE… I GUESS SEEING YOU LIKE THIS AWAKENS THIS SIDE OF ME~”

_ Backey said with a sultry tone. He watched as the spark grew more wild, occasionally glancing up to look at Astro. _

 

_ Astro didn't know how he hadn't gotten to his climax yet, but he knew it would come soon. He made soft moaning sounds as Backey continued. _

 

_ Backey didn’t speak anymore, focusing on making Astro feel good. He decided to go full force, leaning in and really going at it. _

 

_ Astro's moans got louder and louder, clearly enjoying what Backey was doing. His hands started to dig into Backey.... before Astro got an idea. He took his hands and reached down, quickly finding where they wanted to be, and he started to rub. His head had to lean on Backey's head for him to reach, but for some reason, he just wanted to keep their favors uneven. _

 

“MHH~”

_ Backey didn’t expect Astro to do this and moaned, the spark getting shaky. He couldn’t really get it to be any more intense, so he just tried to use his hands and rubbed generally around the area he was kissing. _

 

“HoOAOAAhhhhAHHAhh~ B-BaaAckey, I-I want you t-to feel good too… p-pleEAAhAHhhhAHAH~”

_ He was cut off, and his screen started to flash different colors. He shook violently like before, and he stopped rubbing Backey, his hand just sitting there. This was a very long one, and it lasted for over 45 seconds. _

 

_ Backey moved his head away, breaking the kiss. He stopped rubbing and looked up to Astro. Wow… He watched as Astro shook and moaned, surprised he could get Astro like this. This was lasting a lot longer than the last one... He felt a bit restless, as Astro riled him up a bit by suddenly rubbing him. He didn’t do anything, however, and just patiently waited for Astro’s climax to finish. _

 

_ He stopped shaking suddenly, going limp like last time. He was silent, though, and his once pink screen was now fading, as if he was about to go to sleep. Or he was going to pass out from the rush. _

 

“A-ASTRO? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

_ Backey asked, voice sounding a bit concerned. He hoped he didn’t overwhelm Astro… He cupped Astro’s face with one of his hands. _

 

“.......”

_ He stayed silent, probably trying to collect himself. His hand twitched slightly. _

 

_ Backey looked down and around Astro’s body and caught that Astro’s hand moved. That’s a good sign, right...? Astro probably just needed a moment to recover. He looked back to Astro’s screen and watched it silently, waiting. He had to wonder how good it felt for Astro’s screen to flash for that long and for him to end up in this state afterward… _

 

“W… wow…”

_ Astro mumbled, his screen starting to flicker brighter. He suddenly "woke up", like he was shaken awake from a deep sleep. He looked up at Backey, his screen now re-representing his growing blush. _

 

“TH-THERE YOU ARE… HAD ME WORRIED FOR A SECOND THERE…”

_ Backey said with a chuckle. _

“...HOW’D I DO? WAS IT GOOD…?”

_ Good was probably an understatement. _

 

_ Astro gave Backey a look that clearly gave the answer. _

“Better than g-good… I… I need to rest… though…”

_ He held his head, trying to refocus on the world. _

 

“I-I WOULD IMAGINE SO… THAT LOOKED PRETTY INTENSE FOR YOU…”

_ Backey said, screen brightening slightly. It still kinda surprised him that he got Astro like this... _

 

“Y-yeah, it was…”

_ Astro sighed, a tired feeling washing over him.... then he remembered what he wanted to do with Backey. He internally cursed, wishing he gave what he had to Backey as well. But there was no time… He thought for a moment. It was like Backey intentionally didn't want Astro to do that...  a game maybe. Astro felt a small grin appear on his face, or one would have appeared. _

 

“W-WELL… I HOPE I SATISFIED YOU…”

_ Backey sighed as well, his mind wandering back to when Astro tried to rub him while he was… doing his thing to Astro. It did rile him up a bit, but Astro started a bit too late into it to progress any with Backey before Astro... finished. He wondered if Astro would try and continue doing it now, or if he was too tired to continue. He was fine either way, it just… kinda confused him as to why Astro would choose to just then try and pleasure him back. If that happened… wouldn’t it have kinda made their favors uneven? _

 

_ Astro nodded, watching Backey's screen. He knew what he wanted to do, but he didn't know if he had the power to do it. The world started to blur out, his cameras focusing on Backey.  He slowly started to lean forward, his screen getting closer to Backey's, until a small spark connected between them once again. _

 

_ With how slowly Astro leaned forward, he had plenty of warning before Astro kissed him, so he didn’t make any sounds. He just let Astro do his thing, helping Astro make the spark bigger. He figured… if Astro wanted to do this, he would let him. _

 

_ Astro was gathering his energy, the spark still a bit weak compared to last time. Astro was trying to get his focus as well, focusing on what he was doing. _

 

_ Backey rested his hands on Astro’s hips, not really knowing what else to do. He continued to help with the kiss, wondering where Astro would go from here. _

 

_ Astro saw the spark getting stronger, and he knew that his energy was slowly rising. Astro decided to caress Backey's computer head, intensifying the kiss. _

 

“MM…”

_ Backey hummed into the kiss, pleased that it was starting to get stronger. He relished in Astro’s touch, enjoying his caresses. _

 

_ Astro knew what would get Backey riled- _

“MmMMMMmmmnnnnhhh~”

_ He moaned into the kiss, leaning forward as if he was in great pleasure. Who could say he wasn't. _

 

_ Backey’s screen grew bright at this, flustered at Astro’s noise. Although, he was a little confused. This wasn’t that pleasuring… was it? He wasn’t quite sure how to respond to it, so he just intensified the kiss a little, hands rubbing at Astro’s hips gently. _

 

_ Astro continued, noticing how Backey's screen had grown slightly brighter. _

“Mmmmhh… Mmmmnnhh....”

_ He felt a small shiver of excitement run through him, but he just continued. _

 

_ Backey’s screen continued to brighten. He wasn’t really sure what Astro was trying to accomplish… but whatever he was trying to do, it was working. He felt a shiver of desire go through him as his hands started to wander a bit. _

 

“MmmmMnnn~”

_ Astro moaned. A smirk would have been on his screen as he used one of his hands to tip Backey's screen up, immediately giving Astro more access. The spark quickly grew strong as Astro moaned again. _

“MmmmMMmmhh~”

_ His back even arched a bit, simulating pleasure. He didn't know why he was exaggerating it, but he loved Backey's reactions. _

 

_ Backey continued to grow flustered, especially when Astro tilted his head up. _

“MHH~”

_ Backey let out a soft moan, a real one, as Astro made the kiss stronger. The best way to describe it would be… that he was getting turned on by this. He could tell that Astro was exaggerating a bit, though… and wanted to give him a real reason to moan. One of Backey’s hands went down south, and he started to rub. He wondered if this would provoke Astro to do anything to him. _

 

“MmMMMMMmmmnnH~!”

_ Astro didn't expect Backey to go there again, and at the same time he was about to moan, so some of it was true. His legs shivered a bit, still slightly recovering from the last time. _

 

_ Now that was more like it. Backey continued to rub him, but it wasn’t that hard. It would shift from a normal pace to slow, light, teasing trails. He mainly was doing this to listen to Astro and to try and get Astro to do something to him. He was starting to smirk himself. However, he felt the need to breathe, so he broke away from the kiss, panting a bit. _

 

“OOOAaaAHhhh~”

_ -Was the noise that Astro made when Backey pulled away, again, being timed to sound louder than it would have if Backey stayed with the kiss. He let himself catch his breath, though, with every exhale, he'd make a small, pleasured noise. It got a bit longer as he tried to speak- _

“Backey… I-I’m still weak from the laAst one- AaAAhh~”

 

“MM, I WON’T GO TOO ROUGH… I JUST WANT YOU TO DO SOMETHING TO ME IN RETURN~”

_ Backey said, finally vocalizing it once he’d caught his breath. His touches continued to tease Astro, coaxing him. _

 

“W-well…”

_ Astro let out a small "heh"- _

“I-I can’t really th-think when you’re doing th-thaaAht-”

 

_ Backey felt a bit conflicted since while he did want to be receiving pleasure, he wanted to give pleasure as well. He thought for a moment, before hesitantly stopping his touches. _

“JUST… PLEASE, DO SOMETHING…”

_ Backey pleaded, feeling needy. _

 

_ Astro paused for a moment, surprised by Backey's desperation. Astro nodded, quickly letting the feeling shrivel to nothing. He felt a figurative smirk fall on his screen as he started to get ideas. _

“If you say so, Backey…”

 

_ Backey waited as Astro recovered. He was still on top of Astro, so he kinda wondered if they’d need to flip positions before doing anything or not. _

 

_ Astro looked up to Backey, a lustful look on his screen. The heart on his screen was big and slightly shaking, probably from Astro's growing excitement. _

“Fine. You want it.”

_ Astro suddenly shifted, then he rolled over, protecting Backey from hurting himself. He was now on top, staring down at Backey with a questionable gaze. _

 

_ Backey felt his screen get a bit hotter, glowing a bit brighter as he stared up at Astro. He didn’t expect Astro to be on top of him so suddenly. Backey’s hot pink heart on his screen probably looked similar to Astro’s, big and quivering with excitement. Backey shivered with that same excitement, eyes heavy with lust. _

“I’M READY WHEN YOU ARE…”

_ Backey’s arms had gone to his sides, slightly behind him up against the wall. _

 

_ Astro nodded. He leaned forward and started to kiss Backey's chest, the spark already a bit aggressive. He just wanted to tease Backey ever so slightly before he really got started. _

“Mhhnnn~”

 

“HAHH~”

_ Backey’s arms went stiff, his hands balling up. He felt a wave of pleasure go through him, causing him to shiver. Finally, some pleasure, just what he wanted. But, he knew this was only the beginning, and that this would get even better. _

 

_ Astro's head started to slowly trail up and down Backey's chest, the spark following it. The spark was already a bit blue, and it danced around between them, too. _

_ His hands and fingers seemed to twitch with anticipation on the floor. Astro sometimes moved them, seeming to try and contain his excitement. _

 

_ Backey continued to let out soft pleasured noises as the spark went up and down, trembling a bit. He stared at Astro’s screen and spark between them, not being able to really do much else. His hands tried to grip at the floor a little. _

 

_ Astro continued to do that for a moment, feeling himself figuratively get goosebumps every time he heard Backey's noises. _

 

_ Backey noticed that while wherever the spark went on his chest it sent waves of heat and pleasure through him, he had certain places that were more sensitive than the others, such as around the center of his chest. He guessed that the closer to his power surge the spark got, the more intense of a reaction he’d have. Whenever Astro went over the center of his chest, he’d get a little bit louder for a second. _

 

_ Astro pulled his head up to breath, watching Backey with a mischievous gaze. He had ideas, but he didn't know when to put them into action. _

 

_ Backey took this moment to gather himself a bit while he had the chance, still shaking. He looked up at Astro’s screen, watching him with a half-lidded gaze. _

“Y-YOU’RE… YOU’RE DOING GREAT SO FAR, A-ASTRO…”

_ Backey said, praising him. _

 

_ Astro gave a curt nod, deciding whether or not he should start to get a bit more... aggressive. One of Astro's shaky hands slowly drew up to Backey's head, caressing it softly. His heart changed from a more bright pink to a warmer one, Astro's expression softening. He hadn't really stopped to just... look in a while. _

 

_ Backey’s screen brightened slightly. His gaze softened a little as well, his head leaning into Astro’s hand. He smiled, just looking at Astro for this small moment. _

 

_ It was like time stopped for a moment. What he was doing melted away. His heart fluttered like it did when he told Backey he loved him. _

_ Leaning in, he gave Backey a soft kiss. He let go, then said- _

“Sometimes, I forget to tell you how much I love you. Know that… even if I don’t say it as often as I want to… as I need to… I love you.”

 

_ A rush of affection went through Backey, some of it translating onto his face, a soft, happy look on it. While he still felt needy, he wanted to cherish this moment. _

“I-I LOVE YOU TOO, ASTRO… I LOVE YOU SO MUCH… AND I HOPE THAT YOU KNOW THAT EVEN IF I DON’T SAY IT, IT STILL HOLDS TRUE…”

 

_ Astro blushed, feeling a giddy emotion well up in his chest. He gave a kiss to Backey again, staying with it this time. One of his hands lifted and fell on Backey's chest. _

 

_ Backey made a small noise when Astro touched his chest, it being a bit sensitive. He kissed back, the spark growing stronger. _

 

_ Astro's heart returned to the pink color it was before, the ideas he had now fresh in his database. He pushed into the kiss, immediately making the spark stronger. _

 

“MM~”

_ Backey hummed into the kiss, glad that Astro was getting back into the swing of things. His hands were a little shaky, starting to grip at the floor again to stabilize himself. _

 

_ Astro suddenly broke away, purposely doing so knowing that Backey had started to enjoy it. He had better plans. _

“Turn your sensory up.”

_ He bluntly asked, his seductive gaze watching Backey carefully. _

 

“U-UH… ALRIGHT.”

_ Backey replied, blushing a bit because of the look Astro was giving him and how bluntly he requested that Backey do that. Astro wasn’t really specific as to where or how much… He figured he’d just turn his overall sensory up, but he had to ask- _

“H-HOW MUCH?”

 

“I wouldn’t say all the way, but… up.”

_ Astro's legs moved away from Backey's body, letting Backey test what he found comfortable. His hands continued to twitch and shiver, sometimes tapping on the floor. He hoped he didn't look impatient. _

 

“A-ALRIGHT…”

_ Backey went into his settings and found the familiar sensitivity options. He messed around with it, trying to find a comfortable setting that was still high. When he first turned it up all the way up to go down from there, it felt… weird, and he felt hyper-aware of anything he touched. It gave him a tingly feeling, and he wondered how anything that Astro would do to him would feel. Probably very intense… he probably shouldn’t do that unless he wanted to flash very early on. He turned it down, up until he found the intensity he wanted. One that made him sensitive, but not too sensitive. Once he finished, he nodded to Astro. _

“O-OK, I DID IT…”

 

_ Astro didn't hesitate. He crawled back onto Backey and started to kiss his chest, a spark connecting. It swiveled and flashed, growing more wild by the second. Astro's hands stayed on the ground, but probably not for long... _

 

“H-hhAhH~”

_ Backey let out a moan that was a bit louder than before, shivering. A wave of pleasure went through him, stronger than the last. His hands wanted a place to go, so he put them on Astro’s sides. His screen's heart quivered with excitement. _

 

_ Astro laughed softly, muffled by the kiss. It was now quite strong, it's electric blue color reflecting off Backey's metal chest. Astro's hand slowly crept up Backey's waist, coming to a stop at Backey's thigh. It danced around, sometimes hopping from one leg to the other. Astro was clearly teasing him. _

 

“MMNNhHhhH~ A-AahaAASTRO… P-PLEASE…”

_ Backey tried to hold back his moans to talk, but it was quite hard to do. His legs were shaky, the teasing getting him riled up in anticipation. _

 

_ Astro stopped kissing Backey's chest, pulling up with a playful look on his screen. _

“Please what? Hm~?”

_ His hand trailed along Backey's waist slowly, going in between his legs for only a second. _

 

“A-aH~!”

_ Backey trembled when Astro’s hand went in between his legs for that split second, and he was sure multiple hearts were on his screen at this point. _

“PL-PLEASE… PLEASE STOP T-TEASING ME AND JUST T-TOUCH ME ALREADY…”

_ Backey pleaded, looking desperately into Astro’s screen. _

 

_ Astro paused for a moment, his screen brightening. Huh, Backey... really wanted this. It was strange for them to go back and forth like that. But, why not give what Backey so desperately wanted? _

_ He reached his hand down and slowly trailed his fingers up and down, watching Backey's expression. _

 

“AAahHHh~”

_ Backey moaned, his hands got ever so slightly tighter on Astro’s sides. With his sensory up, the wave of pleasure felt a lot stronger than usual. His legs quivered. _

 

_ Astro giggled- _

“Guess that’s a bit… overwhelming, hm?”

_ He used all of his fingers now, just so that Backey would struggle to answer. _

 

“HHhhHhGGNNN~ A L-L-LITTLE, YESsS…!”

_ That didn’t mean he wanted it to stop, however. _

 

_ Astro chuckled, then he looked down. Slowly, he moved his head closer until a spark connected, both his hands and spark working on Backey. _

 

“HHHhahHAAHhHH~! AaASsTrO~”

_ He felt an all-new feeling with the spark going down there as well as Astro’s hands, and he had a feeling it would’ve already been intense even if he hadn’t turned up his sensory. He was shaking a lot, his grip getting tighter on Astro. _

 

_ Astro's screen flickered slightly brighter. He could tell this probably felt amazing to Backey, so Astro stayed focused on his task. His hands started to rub harder and he made the spark a bit stronger. _

 

_ Backey could tell at this rate he’d probably flash pretty soon. It was a wonder that he hadn’t reached it already, with how intense this was… His moans just proceeded to get louder, his hands starting to dig into Astro’s sides. It was getting hard for him to think… _

 

_ A small wave of pain shot through both of Astro's sides, but he played it off and ignored it, just focusing on what he was doing. The spark started to dance wildly, jumping around. _

 

“HhHhhahAhahH~ HahH… HahahHH…! HHHhahhHHHAhAHHH~!”

_ Backey couldn’t hold it off anymore. His screen started to flash yet again. His back arched, and his legs wrapped around Astro as he shook. It lasted quite a while, about a minute. His hands had let go of Astro at this point. Then, once his climax had finished, he went limp. His screen was fading like Astro’s did last time. _

 

_ Astro pulled up, panting. He tensed when Backey wrapped his legs around Astro like a hungry boa constrictor, but he knew the feeling. Once Backey finished, he watched Backey curiously. _

“Backey…? Are you okay…?”

 

“..........”

_ Backey didn’t respond. His screen was dim, but he wasn’t knocked out. Just close to it. He was breathing, hands twitching slightly as he tried to recollect himself. _

 

“Backey…?”

_ Astro's voice was a bit more concerned. He didn't see his own screen when he had his own climax, so he had no reference to point to. Did he literally knock Backey out? _

 

_ Backey’s screen flickered, before slowly going back to its normal hue. His hand slowly reached over to one of Astro’s, before weakly taking hold of it. He looked up at Astro, eyes apologetic when he saw Astro’s worried face. _

“S… SORRY… F-FOR WORRYING… YOU…”

_ He managed to say. _

 

“G-gosh, you sound really weak… U-uh…”

_ Backey's words apparently didn't help. Astro took one of his arms and scanned it like he would himself. A temperature check, specifically. It came back a bit high, but for obvious reasons. Astro couldn't tell if there was anything wrong with Backey or not. _

 

“A-ASTRO… I-I’M FINE. JUST… TIRED.”

_ He checked his power percentage. It was… 12%. Quite low. Unsurprising though, considering his screen has flashed three separate times. _

 

_ Astro paused, looking up to Backey with a worried expression. _

“A-are… are you sure?”

_ He asked, still holding one of Backey's arms. _

 

_ Backey took a moment to gather his energy, so he could appear less weak when responding. _

“YES, I-I’M SURE… I-I WOULD TELL YOU IF SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH ME, ASTRO. RELAX.”

_ Backey used his other hand to gently take Astro’s hand off of his arm. _

 

_ Astro looked down to his and Backey's hands, held together gently. He squeezed it for reassurance. _

“O-okay…”

 

_ Backey squeezed Astro’s hand back. He looked to Astro’s screen, giving him a soft look. _

“YOU DID A GREAT JOB, ASTRO… THAT FELT AMAZING…”

 

_ Astro blushed, his screen shying away from Backey's. _

“Th-thank you…”

_ The heart one his screen turned warm pink, a bit smaller than it was when it was hot pink. _

 

“YOU’RE WELCOME…”

_ He leaned up a bit and kissed Astro’s cheek. _

“CAN YOU FLIP ME OVER ON TOP OF YOU? N-NOT TO DO ANYTHING, I J-JUST… THINK IT’D BE MORE COMFORTABLE…”

_ He asked as he leaned away. Lying on top of Astro was more comfortable than being up against the wall on the floor. _

 

“O-oh, yes, of course.”

_ Astro gently lifted himself off of Backey, moving over to sit beside Backey. He didn't know if he wanted to stay at Backey's side or not, but, Astro let it be Backey's decision. _

 

_ Backey looked over to Astro for a second, then clambered over onto Astro. He sighed, then just laid his head down on Astro’s chest. His arms wrapped around Astro, hugging him. _

“I LOVE YOU, ASTRO…”

 

“I love you too, Backey…”

_ Astro laid his head on top of Backey's head, a comforting, warm feeling overcoming him. _

 

_ Backey felt himself physically relax, and just melted into Astro’s touch. So warm… _

 

_ Astro raised his hand and let it lie on Backey's back, rubbing gently. He suddenly wondered if Backey's physical sensors were still raised. If it was true, he wondered how this would feel. _

 

_ Backey had forgotten to put his sensors back to normal, so he was still a bit sensitive to touch. However… Astro rubbing into his back like this did feel nice… and relaxing. Wait… when he was happy and relaxed like this, didn't he…? Almost as if on cue, he started to purr. Ah. There it is. _

 

_ Astro did his best to stifle a giggle, but he still snorted. Backey purring was probably the most confusing thing Astro had ever heard. And the cutest. _

 

_ Honestly, Backey was too tired to care at this point if he was purring or not. It’s not like he could control it… He just snuggled into Astro, still purring. _

 

_ Astro decided to check his power, since right now he really didn't want to move. Hm, 20%. It would look a bit... suspicious if both him and Backey went to their charging stations, both too tired to even continue throughout the day. I mean, around two hours had passed ever since they got in here, so it was still daylight outside. Better to just stay in here. At least, for a little bit longer. _

 

_ While still relaxing and purring, Backey checked what time it was in his menu. 5 pm… quite early for them to just go to their charging stations… Hm, they would probably have to stay in here for a bit… however long that may be. He had about… three hours before he straight up passed out, if his power goes down around 1% every fifteen minutes… That is, if he doesn’t go into sleep mode before then. He felt very tired… and warm, so it would be quite easy for him to fall asleep at the moment… but he’d try and stay up. For Astro. _

“HEY, ASTRO? WHAT POWER PERCENTAGE ARE YOU AT?”

_ Backey asked, stopping his purring to talk. He was kinda curious as to how tired Astro was at the moment… _

 

_ Astro looked down to Backey, startled by him suddenly talking. His purring was so soothing, and he had almost fallen asleep. _

“O-oh, uhm, about 20%.”

_ He wondered why Backey wanted to know, but he didn't really bother to find out. Even though the wall was metal, it was somehow very comfortable. _

 

“MM… I’M AT-”

_ He paused to yawn. _

“...12%.”

 

_ Astro yawned as well, the program in his database forcing him to. He spoke- _

“Hm, that’s… quite low.”

 

“YEAH… NOT REALLY SURPRISING THOUGH…”

_ Flashing does take a lot out of you, after all. _

“I’M GONNA TRY AND… STAY UP, AS LONG AS YOU’RE AWAKE. IT’S A LITTLE EARLY TO GO AND CHARGE…”

 

“Yeah, that’s true…”

_ Astro mumbled, blinking slowly. _

_ He didn't know if they should go back out to the main area or not. Well, he couldn't really move right now, actually. _

 

“MHH…”

_ Backey had a feeling his head would’ve just nodded if it wasn’t already resting on Astro’s chest. _

“I… DON’T REALLY WANNA MOVE… BUT I FEEL LIKE I’LL FALL ASLEEP IF WE STAY AS WE ARE RIGHT NOW…”

_ It just felt really comfortable like this… on Astro… and warm. And that made him sleepy. _

 

“I don’t want to move either… what, we don’t have to, y’know.”

_ He looked down at Backey, a warm look on his face. It was true, they could just stay here.... together… So warm... _

 

“YEAH… I KNOW. I WANNA STAY LIKE THIS,”

_ Backey replied, looking up at Astro with an equally warm look. Hm… Astro seemed pretty sleepy too at the moment… _

“IF WE KEEP TALKING, WE’LL PROBABLY STAY… AWAKE…”

_ Backey held back another yawn. _

 

“Alright… Well, I have no subject in mind…”

_ Astro stared off into space, his screen flickering multiple times to simulate his blinking. _

 

“MM… WELL…”

_ Backey paused to think. _

“I’M JUST THINKING OF… HOW GLAD I AM THAT YOU PROPOSED TO ME… THAT WE’RE… TOGETHER.”

 

“I’m so glad that I did… and so glad that you said yes…”

_ He chuckled a small bit- _

“I was worried it was too early, and that my ramble wouldn’t make any sense. I mean… we haven’t been together for that long…”

 

“WELL… THAT’S TRUE. IT IS KINDA EARLY FOR IT… BUT, I CAN’T EVER IMAGINE MYSELF SAYING NO…”

_ Backey looked to Astro fondly. _

“IF YOU HADN’T PROPOSED, I PROBABLY WOULD’VE, SOONER OR LATER… I WISH I COULD’VE SEEN YOUR REACTION TO THAT… HOW HAPPY YOU WOULD’VE BEEN…”

 

_ Astro's screen grew brighter, imagining what his reaction would be. _

“I don’t think it would have been much different from yours. You just stood there. You looked so shocked, too. Your… your hands covered your mouth, and you just… looked so surprised.”

_ He looked down, remembering the moment. _

 

“YEAH… I REALLY WAS. I DIDN’T EXPECT IT AT ALL… WHICH I GUESS IS IDEAL FOR A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL, HEHEH…”

_ He giggled a little. It would’ve been silly if he knew ahead of time… _

“IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I FOUND OUT YOU WERE GOING TO PROPOSE WITHOUT YOU KNOWING, AND WE JUST RACED TO SEE WHO COULD PROPOSE TO EACH OTHER FIRST… HEH, I THINK THAT WAY, IT WOULD’VE BEEN OBVIOUS WHAT OUR ANSWERS WERE, IF WE BOTH PROPOSED AT THE SAME TIME…”

 

_ Astro laughed- _

“W-well yeah, it would have been yes…”

“A race to see who would propose first… I’ve never thought about that.”

_ He laughed again. _

 

“YEAH, HEHEH… I’M JUST IMAGINING HOW IT WOULD’VE WENT. LIKE, I JUST PROPOSE FIRST, AND YOU PROBABLY WOULD’VE LOOKED SO SHOCKED… AND YOU JUST PULL OUT YOUR OWN RING… IT WOULD BE EVEN FUNNIER IF I HADN’T KNOWN YOU WERE GONNA PROPOSE, AND I JUST DID IT WITHOUT KNOWING… THAT WAY, IT WOULD’VE BEEN A SURPRISE FOR THE BOTH OF US!”

_ It was fun to explore all the possible ways it could’ve gone, hehe… _

 

“...And then we just say yes at the same time.”

_ Astro joined in- _

“Then we’d just hug and hug, knowing that the both of us had each other in mind. To think that we proposed at the same time, knowing that we both wanted to be together forever…”

_ He paused, his screen a bit bright. _

 

_ Backey blushed a bit as well. _

“YEAH… HEH, THAT SOUNDS REALLY SWEET… I’M REALLY HAPPY YOU WANT TO STAY WITH ME FOREVER…”

_ Backey said, a soft look on his face. _

 

_ Astro blushed, not really meaning for it to loop like that. _

“W-well, yeah, I love you, Backey. You never know what could happen, so… might as well take that chance.”

 

“YEAH… I LOVE YOU TOO…”

_ Backey slowly reached over and took hold of one of Astro’s hands, their fingers locking together. He stared at it, before looking back to Astro. _

“I’M ALSO GLAD I GOT THE CHANCE TO CONFESS TO YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE… THAT I GOT THE COURAGE TO…”

 

“Yeah… you were the one who… started it all.”

_ Astro smiled, squeezing Backey's hand tighter. _

 

“MHM…”

_ Backey smiled back, leaning over to kiss Astro. _

“WELL… TECHNICALLY YOU WERE THE ONE THAT STARTED IT ALL… YOU MADE ME REALIZE THAT I WAS IN LOVE WITH YOU BY YOU MENTIONING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE… IT MIGHT’VE BEEN EMBARRASSING TO BOTH OF US AT THE TIME, BUT THAT MOMENT WAS IMPORTANT…”

 

“Well, j-just because I induced you to have those feelings w-with a misunderstood sentence, I-I mean… It doesn’t really mean that I was… th-the main reason…”

_ He didn't know why he didn't want to say he was the cause, but it just... didn't feel accurate to him. _

 

“MM… I GUESS…”

_ Backey shrugged. _

“I STILL CONSIDER THAT MOMENT TO BE IMPORTANT, THOUGH…”

 

“Yeah, me too…”

_ He put an arm around Backey, letting the warmth of his body warm him, too. _

 

_ Backey savored Astro’s warmth, it soothing him. He leaned into his touch, wrapping his arms back around Astro. _

“I’M SO GLAD I MET YOU, ASTRO…”

 

“I’m so glad I fell in love with you, Backey.”

_ Astro started to feel a bit sleepy, and he laid his head on the wall, staring up at the ceiling. _

 

“HEH, ME TOO…”

_ Another wave of tiredness washed over Backey. He’d love to keep talking to Astro, but… he simply was just too tired to talk until they could leave the room and charge. _

“DO YOU THINK IT’D BE ALRIGHT IF WE JUST… SLEPT UNTIL IT WAS A REASONABLE TIME TO GO AND CHARGE…? LIKE, UNTIL AROUND 9 PM, MAYBE? I’M JUST… TIRED… AND YOU’RE WARM… AND IT MAKES ME SLEEPY…”

 

“Heh, yeah, I’m tired as well. Why not…”

_ Astro snuggled up closer to Backey- _

“We have plenty of time.”

 

_ Backey shifted a little until he was a bit more comfortable in Astro’s arms. _

“YEAH… I GUESS, UM… GOODNIGHT, UNTIL 9 PM…”

_ Backey gave Astro one last peck on the cheek. _

 

“Goodnight, love.”

_ Astro wrapped his arms around Backey's shoulders, sighing. He kissed Backey's head like a mother would to their child. A protective feeling washed over Astro. _

 

“GOODNIGHT… SWEETHEART…”

_ Backey lowered his head back to Astro’s chest and got comfortable. He made sure to make it to where his inner clock woke him up at 9 pm, made sure that his sensory was turned back to normal, and then, without much trouble at all… fell asleep. _

 

_ Astro stayed silent, trying to fall asleep. But, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't naturally fall asleep. His mind just raced about what had happened. _

_ He wondered what would happen at their wedding, if they were even going to have one. Should he pick a best-man? Who would that even be? Would there be outfits or decoration or anything? _

_ He didn't know. He just wondered, his screen slightly brightening at his thoughts. Then his mind switched to Backey. Just Backey. His blue screen, his adorable body, his personality. The way he purred when he was comfortable, how flustered he could get when Astro teased him. The heart on his screen. _

_ This is the man he loves. Right there, lying on his chest. _

 

_ Backey snored softly, snuggling into Astro a bit more in his sleep. _

 

_ Astro looked down, trying not to laugh. He looked back up, doing his best to fall asleep. After a while, he did eventually... fall asleep. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! If you see any typos, point them out and I'll fix em!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy... it's been a while, hasn't it? Between school and lack of motivation to edit this, I kinda went on a hiatus. Welp, here's chapter 8 for you guys. Enjoy!
> 
> Who's playing who in this chapter:  
> Astro, Emmet, Tom - Dyno  
> Backey, Baby - Me

_ Eventually, 9 pm arrived. The second that it hit 9 pm, Backey was woken up by his internal alarm. Once it registered that Backey woke up, it shut off. Ugh… he still felt tired and groggy… which is unsurprising, but still. He checked his power percentage. It was higher than it was, 28%. Still pretty low though, and he should get back to sleep pretty soon… but this time, he would be charging. _ He lifted his head, and looked down at what he was lying on and… oh yeah, he fell asleep on Astro... right.

 

_ Astro was still asleep, quietly breathing. His screen was black like he was shut off, but it was only to save his power while he "charged". _

 

_ He looked down at Astro for a moment, feeling his chest move up and down as he breathed. It was rare to see Astro quite as relaxed as this… He smiled a small smile. One of his hands came up and caressed the side of Astro’s head.  _

_ Hm… since he didn’t wake up at the same time as him, he must not have set his internal alarm… Eh, no matter. He could wake him up. His other hand gently shook Astro, trying to wake him up. _

“HEY, ASTRO, IT’S 9 PM… WAKE UP…”

 

_ Astro stayed asleep, only snoring a bit louder. He turned his head slightly, it facing the door. _

 

“MM… ASTROOOOO…”

_ Backey shook him a little harder, his voice a little louder than before. _

 

_ Astro just snored louder, cringing in his sleep. He rolled over on his side, taking Backey with him. _

 

“W-WAHH!”

_ Backey didn’t expect Astro to roll over, and let out small “oof!” when his body clanked against the floor. It didn’t hurt, he just didn’t expect it. _

 

“H-huh?! Wha-?”

_ Astro snorted awake, looking around frantically. He saw Backey beside him, crumpled on the floor. _

“A-are you okay, Backey?”

_ Astro asked that before anything else, wanting Backey to be okay. _

 

_ Backey just looked at Astro for a second, snorted, then burst out into a fit of giggles. _

“Y-YEAH, I’M F-FINE-”

_ Backey managed to say, still giggling. For some reason this just was funny to him. _

 

“Wh-why are you laughing? What happened?”

_ Astro asked, confused. He still felt a bit groggy, so his vision was slightly blurry at the sides. _

 

_ Backey got a few more giggles out of his system, before calming down and responding. _

“I-I WAS TRYING TO WAKE YOU UP, BUT YOU DIDN’T RESPOND AND JUST ROLLED OVER, MAKING ME FALL OVER ONTO THE FLOOR.”

 

“Oh-”

_ Astro laughed- _

“Sorry about that, guess I was so tired, I didn’t even remember you were on top of me.”

 

“I-IT’S FINE ASTRO, AT LEAST YOU’RE UP NOW…”

_ Backey then sat up, looking at Astro. _

“I’M STILL QUITE TIRED RIGHT NOW, I’M AT 28%... LET’S GO TO OUR CHARGING STATIONS FOR THE NIGHT.”

 

“Agreed.”

_ Astro got into a better position so that Backey could help him up, putting his legs under his body. _

 

_ Backey got up and grabbed one of Astro’s hands before pulling him up, used to this routine by now. _

“UUUUUP YOU GO!”

 

_ Astro laughed when Backey pulled him up. _

“Y-you make it sound like I’m a child.”

_ He kept his grip on Backey's hand, watching him. It was kind of weird for him to be adjusting to how tall he was again. _

 

“PFFT, I GUESS…”

_ Backey chuckled, looking up at Astro. Astro always seemed to tower over him when they were standing next to each other. It felt a little weird to see when they were mostly at eye level before on the ground. He squeezed Astro’s hand. _

 

_ Astro sighed. He decided to check his power, flicking to it on his main menu. Huh, only 36%. Better than 20%, was the only thing Astro could think. _

“We should be quiet when going out, I think the crew is asleep by now.”

_ Astro suggested, lowering his voice self-consciously. _

 

“ALRIGHT, WILL DO.”

_ Backey replied, voice lowering to match Astro’s volume. _

 

_ Astro nodded to Backey, turning around and facing the door. He, as quietly as he could, walked up to it and opened it, thanking any higher power that it didn't make noise. _

 

_ Backey quietly walked up to the door, looking through into the darkness, his cameras adjusting. He nodded to Astro, then wordlessly walked through the door. _

 

_ Astro soon did the same, closing the door behind him. He walked over to his desk and detached his head, soon commanding his body to walk to it's charging station. He couldn't see Backey from the angle he was at, but it didn't really matter as he whispered- _

“Goodnight again, love.”

 

_ Backey did the same as Astro, placing his head on his spot and commanding his body to go over to his charging station. _

“GOODNIGHT, ASTRO…”

_ Backey whispered back. It took him a little longer to fall asleep than last time, since he didn’t feel as warm and comfortable without being on top of Astro, but he did soon fall asleep. _

  
  


_ Backey awoke from his slumber. He yawned, stretching out his limbs a bit. Hm… wherever he was, it was quite comfortable… He looked down, and he seemed that he was on… a bed? Huh. He hasn’t slept on one of these before… It just felt so soft, and warm… Was this what humans really got to experience when they slept? It was just so comfortable, and he didn’t want to leave. But… Hm, this must be a dream. There weren’t any beds on the shuttle. Maybe he should look around, and see what was different. _

_ He moved the sheets over, revealing his legs. Which were… human? Wait, what? He looked to his hands, seeing that there were no mechanical joints, no metal to be seen. Just… skin. He touched his arm. It… felt like a human. Soft and fleshy. This… huh. He decided to step out of bed. It looked like he was in some sort of bedroom… he guessed he was in a house. His house? Maybe. It was a dream, it could be anybody’s house. He looked over and saw there was a mirror next to a dresser. Curious to see himself better, he walked over to it. _

_ He looked to just be dressed in some boxers… otherwise, he didn’t have anything else on. Well, he figured that’s what most male humans wore to bed. What he was more interested in was his appearance. He looked to have about the same figure as he did normally in his robot body, except he looked… well, human. He had a lean figure, kind of slender. Tan skin, with some freckles here and there, like on his shoulders and arms for example. It was… kind of mind-boggling to look at. This was… weird. He looked away from his body to his face. He had a bit of a round face, with a button nose. He had freckles speckled across his cheeks and nose. His eyes were a chestnut brown, and looked… well, kinda shocked. Awed, even. He kinda expected himself to look that way though. Who wouldn’t be, waking up as a whole other species? It felt weird to see himself have more than just his eyebrows as a facial feature. Short, curly auburn colored hair framed his face, bangs covering his forehead. A cowlick stuck up, and when he tried to smooth it down, it just went straight back up, stubborn. He noticed it was on the side of his head where his lightbulb was. It was interesting that his mind imagined himself in this way… Was it narcissistic to consider his human self cute? Well, it was him, but also it wasn’t… and it wasn’t bad to love yourself, far from it, just as long as you didn’t become self-centered. So… maybe it wasn’t? Who knows, this was confusing… _

_ After standing there gawking at himself for a while, he looked over to the drawer. Might as well put on clothes while he could. He opened the drawers one by one and saw they were separated by articles of clothing. Pants… more pants… shirts… shirts… and an underwear and sock drawer. There were a lot of brightly colored graphic tees, as well as some fancier dress shirts, presumably for special occasions. They were all tucked neatly into the drawer. Looking at the pants drawer revealed jeans, shorts, dress pants, and even some sweatpants. More boxers could be found in the underwear drawer, as well as some plain socks. Although, a few of them had some cute designs. After rummaging around, he picked out a random t-shirt and some sweatpants and put them on. It would probably be best to dress himself, he shouldn’t be walking around half-naked. It was rather comfortable, the fabric was soft against his skin and kept him warm. _

_ He looked around some more and found a closet. It had jackets, coats, and even a few suits on the hangers. Some shoes were on the floor, some neatly placed on the soft carpet, others looked to be haphazardly thrown in. Looking up to the top shelves, a few boxes were placed there. Probably stored sentimental items or something. Who knows. He took some slippers off of the floor and slipped his feet into them. Again, comfy. Might as well feel comfortable for however long he has this dream. _

_ After looking around some more and finding nothing of interest, he decided to go and explore the rest of the house. After taking one last glance at the mirror, he opened the door, hearing it creak open. He took a few steps out of the bedroom, before hearing a familiar voice say- _

_ “Morning, love.” _

_ Astro? Backey whipped his head around, looking for the direction his voice was coming from. He scanned across the living room in front of him, before looking to the kitchen to his left. It… sounded like it was coming from the kitchen. He should probably go in there. He couldn’t see Astro from where he was. He walked to the door frame of the kitchen. _

_ “GOOD MORNING, ASTRO-” _

_ Backey began to say, before finally seeing him and abruptly stopped talking. Looks like he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t a robot anymore. In Astro’s place stood a tall, muscular man. He looked to be dressed in some comfortable clothes like Backey, wearing another t-shirt and some shorts. His eyes wandered all over his figure, before forcing himself to look up. Astro was looking at him as well, a small smile on his face. He was… really handsome. He had a strong jawline and high cheekbones. He had mesmerizing pale blue eyes that were hard to look away from. He had short wavy brown hair, a strand of hair also sticking out where his lightbulb would’ve been. His skin was a little paler than his it seemed… no freckles that he could see. _

_ “I was wondering when you’d be up… you slept in a bit later than usual. I would’ve woken you up, but I figured you needed your rest.” _

_ Astro said, not noticing the sudden end to Backey’s greeting. Well, he guessed it wasn’t too noticeable…? Backey shook his head, trying to get himself to stop gawking at Astro’s appearance and just speak already. It was hard though… How come he was so handsome?! Well… he guessed he should’ve expected it, Astro was quite handsome as his robot self… He guessed he just wasn’t used to his appearance as a human. _

_ “A-AH, YEAH, I GUESS I DID… I USUALLY WAKE UP BEFORE YOU… HUH, I GUESS I WAS JUST TIRED LAST NIGHT.” _

_ Backey managed to finally say. _

_ “Heh, yeah… After last night? I’m not surprised.” _

_ Astro replied. Huh… what did he do last night in the dream? Wait, maybe this is referring to what he did outside of the dream…? O h. He must’ve… he must’ve done the same thing with human Astro that he did with the actual Astro before he went to sleep… _

_ “EHEHE… U-UM, YEAH… AFTER WHAT WE DID, I WAS QUITE TIRED… SO IT MAKES SENSE.” _

_ Backey replied, cheeks reddening. He looked away to the stove in front of Astro, and noticed that Astro was cooking… what looked to be breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon… He could actually smell it, which was fascinating to him. He didn’t have a sense of smell outside of his dreams… but it did smell quite good. _

_ “I SEE YOU MADE BREAKFAST…?” _

_ Astro nodded. _

_ “Mhm. I was just about to go and wake you up, I was just now starting to get plates since the eggs and bacon are done.” _

_ Astro walked over to a cabinet and took out two plates. He walked back over to the stove and started to scrape some of the scrambled eggs and bacon out of the pan onto the plates. He turned off the stove and then went to hand Backey his plate. _

_ “Here you go, love.” _

_ Astro kissed his cheek as he put the plate in his hands. _

_ “TH-THANKS… IT ALREADY LOOKS QUITE APPETIZING.” _

_ Backey said, his cheeks redding even more when Astro kissed him. It felt a bit different compared to how he was normally kissed… It was kinda weird not seeing that familiar spark between them, but he guessed that it made sense. Humans… they don’t have that when they kiss. _

_ “Hehe, really? Good, I’m glad. And you’re welcome.” _

_ Astro grinned as he put forks on their plates. He then walked past Backey into the living room and sat down on the couch with his food. Backey figured he should probably follow him, so he walked over and sat down next to him. _

_ What Backey said before was the truth, it did look quite good… He was really excited to try it. He hadn’t ever eaten food before… This would be his first time. He picked up his fork and stuck some of the eggs on it. He looked to his right and saw Astro was already eating. Well… bon appetit. He raised the fork to his mouth and ate the eggs off of it. ...It… it was delicious! He picked up a piece of bacon and ate it as well. It was so crunchy! And the texture… He couldn’t believe it! Was this what he was missing out on? _

_ “Hehe, wow… you really like it, don’t you?” _

_ Astro asked, chuckling at seeing Backey scarf down his food. _

_ “YES! IT’S DELICIOUS!!” _

_ Backey said after he finished the mouthful he was on. He wasn’t able to keep his excitement out of his tone. It was just so wonderful! He’d never done this before! _

_ Astro snorted. _

_ “Pff, yeah, it is pretty good. You say that like you’ve never had scrambled eggs and bacon before.” _

_ How ironic that Astro happened to be right. Well, his human self has probably had this a ton of times, but him personally? Not ever. _

_ “WELL, YOU DID A GOOD JOB, ASTRO. THANKS FOR COOKING BREAKFAST!” _

_ Backey said cheerily as he finished his last mouthful. He looked over to Astro and watched as Astro started to blush a bit. Heh, cute. _

_ “You’re welcome, Backey… and thanks.” _

_ Astro said softly. He finished up eating as well and took Backey’s plate from him, walking over to the kitchen sink presumably to wash the dishes. Backey smiled. This… must be his and Astro’s house. They live together on their own… and live a regular life presumably. He heard the water turn off, and Astro came back into the living room and sat back down on the coach. _

_ “So… what would you like to do on our day off? Now that we’re both up.” _

_ Astro asked. Hm… good question. What would they do? _

_ “HM… JUST RELAX I GUESS? AND JUST… SPEND TIME WITH YOU.” _

_ Backey said, giving a soft look to Astro. Astro smiled. _

_ “Heh… we can do that.” _

_ Astro pulled Backey closer to his side. Backey felt a stir of affection rise up in him. _

_ “I LOVE YOU, ASTRO…” _

_ Astro gave a warm look to Backey. _

_ “I love you too, Backey…” _

_ Astro leaned in and gave Backey a kiss, this time on the lips. Again, different than the kisses Backey was used to, but enjoyable nonetheless. Backey kissed back, before breaking away and leaning against Astro’s shoulder. For some reason, he was starting to feel sleepy again… _

_ “YOU WOULDN’T MIND IF I TOOK A NAP, WOULD YOU?” _

_ Backey asked sleepily. Astro chuckled. _

_ “Right now? On the couch?” _

_ Backey nodded. _

_ “MHM…” _

_ “Well… I don’t see why not.” _

_ Astro shifted over, taking Backey in his arms as he lied down on the couch. Backey lazily smiled, snuggling up to Astro and lying his head down on his chest. _

_ “Comfy?” _

_ Astro asked. _

_ “YEP… YOU’RE COMFORTABLE TO LIE ON.” _

_ Backey replied. Astro smiled and wrapped his arms around him. _

_ “Heh, that’s good… hope you sleep well…” _

_ “I WILL ASTRO… I WILL.” _

_ Backey said, growing tired by the second. Everything faded to black as he laid there in Astro’s arms, snuggling into Astro’s warmth… and he fell asleep. _

_ Then… he woke up. He sleepily opened his eyes and saw the main area of the shuttle. Ah… back to reality. It was almost bittersweet, he really did like that glimpse he got of his life as a human… but it was just a dream. Besides, he liked this reality better. _

 

_ Astro stood at his desk, typing away at the daily report. It was about 6:30 am in Earth time, and the sun had not yet risen. All of the crew was sound asleep except for Astro, who just couldn't sleep for long. He didn't notice Backey awake as he continued to do his work, internally typing away. He had no dreams last night, which isn't a bad thing, nor really a great thing. He was just relieved it wasn't a heart-racing nightmare like he's been having recently. _

 

_ Backey yawned, before feeling quite energized, being fully charged. He looked over and saw Astro standing at his desk. Ah, he must be writing his report… Once he finished it, he wanted to share his dream with Astro… Before getting up and doing anything, he quickly jotted down his dream in his notes, before he could forget anything. _

 

_ Astro continued his work, quietly humming to himself. At least he could talk when he was in this stage of document production. _

 

_ Once Backey finished jotting the dream down, he commanded his body to walk over and put on his head. Hm, Astro will probably notice at this point that he’s up… unless he’s too absorbed into his work. _

 

“Good morning, love.”

_ Astro quietly greeted, unable to turn his head to look at Backey. He continued to hum a bit, trying to distract himself from the fact that he couldn't properly greet Backey at the moment. _

 

“MORNING, SWEETHEART.”

_ Backey greeted back as put his head on, and then stretched. He walked over to Astro. _

“DID YOU SLEEP WELL?”

 

“I would guess so. No nightmares, so that’s good news.”

_ Astro would have shrugged. He continued- _

“Though I woke up a bit earlier than I’m used to. Guess I just wanted this day to start.”

 

“I GUESS SO… AND THAT’S GOOD THAT YOU DIDN’T HAVE A NIGHTMARE.”

_ Backey replied, now watching Astro as he worked. _

“SPEAKING OF DREAMS… I HAD ONE LAST NIGHT. A VIVID ONE, TOO.”

 

“Oh really?”

_ Astro did his best to get his work done a bit faster, the feeling of being immobile a bit uncomfortable. _

 

“YEAH, IT WAS QUITE INTERESTING… YOU WERE IN IT AS WELL.”

_ Backey said, reviewing over his notes as he spoke. _

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR IT? I COULD ALSO GO GET SOME DRAWING SUPPLIES REAL QUICK, I’D LIKE TO KINDA ILLUSTRATE SOME SPECIFIC THINGS TO HELP YOU VISUALIZE IT BETTER.”

 

_ Astro paused for a moment, surprised how much Backey was invested in this story. _

“Sure, I might need to finish first. I can’t even really see you that well.”

_ He did his best not to show his blushing screen, knowing that he was in Backey's dream. _

 

“ALRIGHT, I’LL JUST GO AHEAD AND GET THE ART SUPPLIES AND SKETCH OUT WHAT I WANT TO SKETCH WHILE YOU FINISH UP YOUR WORK.”

_ Backey nodded to Astro, before quietly speed walking over to the lower part to get the familiar paper, pencils, and crayons. He made sure not to wake any of the still sleeping crewmembers. _

 

_ While Astro worked, he wondered what the dream was. If it was so complex and vivid for Backey to get drawing utensils, it must have been interesting. Sooner or later, he finally got the report done. Hooking himself up for the scanning, he patiently waited for Backey's return. _

 

_ While getting the supplies, Backey noticed there was a spare clipboard that he could use. He attached the piece of paper to it. Now he wouldn’t have to use the desk, wall, or floor to draw something on. Neat. Once he had the clipboard, a pencil, and a crayon box, he walked back into the main shuttle, sat near Astro, and started to sketch his human self. _

 

_ Astro would have said something, but he really couldn't at the moment. Soon, the scan completed, and Astro unplugged himself from the table. Finally able to move. He stretched his arms a bit, then sat down. _

“So, what is this dream that you’re talking about?”

 

“WELL, I GUESS IT WOULD BE BEST TO START FROM THE BEGINNING…”

_ Backey said, looking up to Astro for a second, before looking back down to his drawing. He continued to sketch it out, trying to sketch quickly, but he still tried to make it look good. _

“I BASICALLY ‘WOKE UP’ IN THE DREAM AS SOON AS I FELL ASLEEP. I WASN’T IN THE SHUTTLE AT ALL OR ANYTHING, IN FACT, I WAS IN A HOUSE. I WAS IN A… QUEEN’S SIZE BED, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY. IT WAS WARM AND COZY.”

 

“A bed? You woke up in a bed?”

_ Astro asked. If he was in a bed, he couldn't have used his charging station, so he'd be at low power. Well, that happened sometimes. And he was in a house, too? Immediately, Astro had multiple questions. _

 

“MHM. I KNOW, THAT’S CONFUSING, BUT IT MAKES SENSE ONCE I GET TO MAIN… GIMMICK, I GUESS, OF THE DREAM.”

_ Backey explained, hearing the confusion in Astro’s voice. He continued on- _

“THE BED BASICALLY IMMEDIATELY TIPPED ME OFF TO THE FACT THAT THIS WAS A DREAM, AND IT MADE ME CURIOUS, TO SAY THE LEAST. I WANTED TO LOOK AROUND AND EXPLORE, SO I TOOK THE COVERS OFF MY LEGS AND… I COULD ALREADY SEE I LOOKED QUITE DIFFERENT. I’M ACTUALLY DRAWING WHAT I LOOKED LIKE NOW, AS A MATTER OF FACT.”

 

_ Astro looked down to Backey's drawing. He sat there, shocked and confused. It... it looked like.. a human version of Backey. He had short, curly hair, a button nose, and was... adorable. Astro's screen brightened at the drawing, fascinated by it. _

 

“HEH… AS YOU CAN SEE, I WOKE UP AS A HUMAN, WHICH EXPLAINS WHY I WAS IN A BED.”

_ Backey looked up again, chuckling slightly at seeing Astro blush. Guess he liked the human version of him too, huh? _

“BUT, ANYWAY, I WAS OBVIOUSLY SHOCKED AT THIS DISCOVERY. THERE WAS A MIRROR IN THE ROOM, SO I WALKED OVER TO IT TO LOOK AT MYSELF BETTER… THE CRAYON COLORS AREN’T THE BEST BUT… THE MAIN THING WAS THAT I HAD TAN SKIN WITH SOME FRECKLES, BROWN EYES, AND AUBURN HAIR. IT WAS KINDA WEIRD SEEING MYSELF WITH MORE FACIAL FEATURES, I JUST LOOKED… SHOCKED, AWED AT MY REFLECTION.”

_ He said, now coloring in his sketch with crayons. _

 

“Y-yeah, I would be shocked too… Y-you said I was in your dream too? Was I also a human?”

_ Astro asked curiously, his overflowing curiosity getting the best of his words. _

 

“YEAH, ALTHOUGH I DIDN’T KNOW THAT UNTIL I SAW YOU. YOU WERE ALREADY UP, IN A DIFFERENT ROOM… BUT LET’S NOT GET AHEAD OF OURSELVES.”

_ Backey answered, finishing up with the colored sketch of himself. He went to another section of the paper and began to draw the human version of Astro. _

“AFTER I STOPPED STANDING THERE GAWKING AT MYSELF, I WENT OVER TO THE DRESSER IN THE ROOM AND PUT ON SOME CLOTHES, BECAUSE I COULDN’T JUST WALK AROUND HALF NAKED…

_ Now that he thought about it, he wondered if anything would have gone differently if he just walked out to see Astro in just his boxers… Maybe not. Who knows. _

“AFTER PUTTING ON A T-SHIRT AND SOME SWEATPANTS, I WALKED OVER TO A CLOSET TO SEE WHAT WAS IN THERE. THERE WAS GENERALLY JUST THE REGULAR STUFF YOU’D FIND IN A CLOSET IN THERE… JACKETS AND COATS, EVEN A FEW SUITS… I PUT ON SOME SLIPPERS THAT WERE ON THE FLOOR, AND AFTER LOOKING AROUND THE ROOM ONE MORE TIME, I LEFT THE BEDROOM TO EXPLORE THE REST OF THE HOUSE.”

 

_ Astro watched Backey with such curiosity, never imagining what it would be like to be a human. Huh, what would clothes be like? They would probably feel weird on the sens- or... well, skin. And he wondered why Backey even had suits in the first place. Did something important happen? Maybe an event? ...Astro wondered if it was the wedding or not. _

“So, you explored your own house?”

_ He asked as he continued to watch Backey draw. _

 

_ Backey nodded. _

“YEAH. OUR HOUSE, PRESUMABLY. I HAD WALKED OUT OF THE BEDROOM INTO THE LIVING ROOM, WHEN I HEARD YOUR VOICE COME FROM THE KITCHEN TO MY LEFT. YOU HAD SAID “MORNING, LOVE.” THAT WAS WHEN YOU CAME INTO THE DREAM.”

_ He said as he continued to draw. He hoped that he was making Astro appear as handsome as he remembered… _

 

“Heh, that’s… close to what I said this morning.”

_ Astro's screen brightened a bit, continuing to watch Backey draw. Was that... him? He wondered what he was doing in the kitchen, or, what he did in the kitchen. _

 

“HUH, YEAH, NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT, YOU DID… GUESS I KNOW YOU PRETTY WELL, HEHEH…”

_ Backey chuckled, before continuing. _

“I SAID GOOD MORNING TO YOU AS I WALKED INTO THE KITCHEN, BEFORE SEEING THAT YOU WERE… WELL, HUMAN. YOU JUST LOOKED… REALLY HANDSOME. YOU HAD SLIGHTLY PALER SKIN THAN I DID, WITH BROWN HAIR AND PALE BLUE EYES THAT YOU COULD JUST GET LOST IN FOREVER…”

_ Backey blushed, recalling the memory of his dream. _

 

_ Astro noticed Backey's screen brightening, causing himself to giggle. _

“Guess you liked how I looked?”

_ He shifted so that his arms rested on his knees. He wondered how come he was so handsome. Or well, from Backey's opinion. He was just a robot, so how did Backey give him such masculine features? I mean, he didn't know if he would call himself "handsome", but he... he was apparently stunning, from what Astro saw from Backey's sketch. _

 

_ Backey slowly nodded, blushing a bit more. _

“MHM… I GUESS IT MAKES SENSE THAT YOU’RE HANDSOME AS A HUMAN SINCE I ALREADY FIND YOU HANDSOME NORMALLY…”

 

_ Now Backey got Astro flustered. His screen turned up a few notches as he curtly glanced away, towards the floor. _

 

“A-AHEM… ANYWAY… AFTER STARING AT YOU FOR A FEW SECONDS, WE KINDA JUST TALKED ABOUT ME SLEEPING IN LATER THAN USUAL, WHICH, A-ACCORDING TO DREAM YOU, WASN’T THAT SURPRISING AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE… I’M GUESSING WE DID THE SAME THING THAT WE ACTUALLY DID UH… YESTERDAY.”

_ Backey blushed more, but moved on- _

“B-BUT ANYWAY, I SAW THAT YOU WERE COOKING BREAKFAST FOR THE BOTH OF US. SCRAMBLED EGGS AND BACON.”

 

“Oh, breakfast? Huh, I’ve never eaten… food before.”

_ Astro muttered, thinking to himself. Did Backey actually eat? His curiosity sparked at the thought. What does food taste like? I mean, him and Backey don't really need food, since they are machines, but rather actual energy. A- wait, the other day? Huh, Backey's mind must really keep track of his life. Even in the unconscious world. _

 

“Y-YEAH, I HADN’T EITHER, BEFORE THE DREAM. WHAT WAS INTERESTING WAS THAT I COULD SMELL THINGS IN THE DREAM, LIKE THE FOOD. IT’S… HARD TO DESCRIBE REALLY, BUT IT SMELLED GOOD. IT LOOKED GOOD TOO. I GUESS HUMAN YOU IS A NICE COOK…”

_ Backey remarked as he started to color in his sketch of Astro. _

“YOU HAD SAID YOU WERE ABOUT TO GO WAKE ME UP ANYWAY SINCE THE FOOD WAS DONE, AND YOU SCRAPED SOME OF IT ONTO TWO PLATES FOR THE BOTH OF US. Y-YOU UM… KISSED ME ON THE CHEEK AS YOU HANDED ME MY PLATE, WH-WHICH WAS… IT FELT A BIT DIFFERENT THAN HOW WE KISS NORMALLY, BUT IT WAS NICE.”

 

_ Astro wondered what it was like to have lips. Probably really strange. And gross. _

“Was the food good? Or… did you like it?”

_ He asked, curious to know what food tasted like. He wondered how he even got the ability to smell, and how his dream interpreted that into food. It was so fascinating! What does food even smell like? What does it even taste like? _

 

“YES! WHEN WE WENT TO GO SIT DOWN ON THE COUCH TOGETHER AND EAT, IT TASTED AMAZING! AGAIN, HARD TO EXPLAIN HOW THINGS TASTE AND STUFF, BUT THE EGGS WERE… CHEWY? I GUESS? AND THE BACON WAS CRUNCHY. IT WAS GOOD…”

_ Backey chuckled. _

“YOU WERE AMUSED BY ME SCARFING DOWN MY FOOD, THINKING I REALLY LIKED IT- WHICH I DID, OBVIOUSLY- AND WHEN I SAID THE FOOD WAS DELICIOUS YOU KINDA AGREED, BUT YOU SAID THAT ‘YOU SAY THAT LIKE YOU’VE NEVER HAD SCRAMBLED EGGS AND BACON BEFORE.’ WHICH I FIND KINDA IRONIC THAT YOU WERE RIGHT, HEH…”

 

“Sounds like something I would say… I mean, if I’ve ever had food before. You make it sound so great, heh… I’m kind of jealous.”

_ Astro shrugged. Chewy, crunchy, some other adjective to describe a food item... It made sense... but also didn't. Huh. _

 

“YEAH… IF I WAS ABLE TO, I’D MAKE IT TO WHERE YOU WERE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THE THINGS I EXPERIENCED, IT WAS ALL QUITE FASCINATING, REALLY.”

_ Backey said, finishing up with his drawing. _

“I SAID THAT YOU HAD DONE A GOOD JOB COOKING BREAKFAST AND I THANKED YOU FOR IT, YOU BLUSHED AND SAID THAT I WAS WELCOME AND THANKED ME. ONCE YOU HAD FINISHED EATING AS WELL, YOU TOOK OUR PLATES AND WASHED THEM IN THE KITCHEN BEFORE COMING BACK TO SIT ON THE COUCH.”

 

_ Huh, guess I was responsible. He looked down at Backey's drawing of human Astro. Indeed, he was handsome, and tall... and strong... Huh, did Backey.. modify a few details here and there? He smirked to himself as he thought about it. _

“We had a couch? What color was it?”

_ It was a stupid question, but he wanted to see how much of this dream Backey could remember. So far, it seemed like everything. _

 

“UM… IT WAS BROWN, I’M PRETTY SURE.”

_ Backey answered, after a moment of thought. That's kinda a random question to ask... _

 

“Huh… Alright then, continue.”

_ Astro was impressed by how much Backey paid attention in these dreams. Usually the dreams he remembered the most were only nightmares. _

 

“RIGHT, UM… YOU ASKED ME WHAT I WANTED TO DO ON OUR DAY OFF, AND I DIDN’T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING IN MIND OTHER THAN RELAXING AND SPENDING TIME WITH YOU. YOU SAID THAT WE COULD DO THAT, AND YOU PULLED ME CLOSER TO YOUR SIDE… I SAID THAT I LOVED YOU, YOU SAID YOU LOVED ME BACK, AND WE BOTH KISSED.”

_ Backey said, looking down at the drawings he had made of him and Astro. He dusted off any stray pencil eraser bits, not knowing what else to do to it. _

 

“...What was the kiss like?”

_ Astro asked, looking to Backey with a shy gaze. I mean, the kiss was probably like any other kiss, but... he just wanted to know. _

 

“WELL… IT WAS JUST LIKE A NORMAL KISS, IT JUST WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT SINCE WE WERE HUMANS. THERE WASN’T A SPARK AND I GUESS IT WAS… A LITTLE MORE DIRECT? I GUESS? I’M NOT SURE, IT JUST KINDA FELT A LITTLE DIFFERENT… IT WAS ENJOYABLE, THOUGH.”

_ Backey blushed a bit, a small smile on his face. _

 

“Huh, interesting…”

_ Astro rubbed the back on his hand, thinking. It sounded like it wasn't too different, so he could imagine what it was like. He kind of wished he could have a dream like this, but he doubted that his mind would think of something similar to Backey's dream. Usually dreams were more focused on thoughts relevant to the real world. But, it made Astro wonder... why were the two of them humans? _

 

“YEAH… AFTER WE KISSED, I LEANED AGAINST YOUR SHOULDER, AND WAS STARTING TO FEEL SLEEPY AGAIN FOR SOME REASON… I GUESS THAT WAS BECAUSE I WAS CLOSE TO WAKING UP AND THE DREAM ENDING… I ASKED YOU IF YOU MINDED IF I TOOK A NAP, YOU SAID YOU WERE FINE WITH IT, AND WE KINDA JUST SNUGGLED UP TO EACH OTHER. I LAID MY HEAD DOWN ON YOUR CHEST AND YOU WRAPPED YOUR ARMS AROUND ME, AND EVERYTHING FADED TO BLACK AS I FELL ASLEEP… AND THEN I WOKE UP.”

_ Backey concluded. _

“IT WAS… QUITE THE ENJOYABLE DREAM FOR ME.”

 

“That sounded like a nice dream…”

_ Astro said, feeling the longing to be beside Backey. He scooted his body over to Backey with his arms and looked down at him, smiling. he shrugged- _

“Guess I just liked the idea of snuggling.”

 

“HEHEH, YEAH, I GUESS SO…”

_ Backey said, looking to Astro who was now next to him. Heh… He set his clipboard to the side, and leaned up against Astro. _

“SEEMS LIKE I USE YOUR CHEST AS A PILLOW WHETHER I’M HUMAN OR NOT, HEH…”

 

“Yeah…”

_ Astro sighed, his screen brightening ever so slightly. He was so glad he had Backey. _

 

“IF I COULD, I’D SNUGGLE WITH YOU ALL DAY. IT’S REALLY QUITE COMFORTABLE…”

_ Backey mumbled. _

“I ALWAYS FIND JOY IN TALKING TO YOU OR JUST BEING NEAR YOU…”

 

“Me too, it’s like all stress, worry, and sadness just… go away.”

_ He snuggled up closer to Backey, resting his camera's on his feet. Maybe he should do something, like clean, or count supply. But, right now, nothing seemed as important as being with Backey. _

 

“YEAH…”

_ Backey smiled, snuggling up closer to Astro as well. He wrapped his arms around Astro, giving him a hug. All Backey really wanted to do now was to be close to Astro… _

 

_ Astro planted a small kiss on the top of Backey's screen, resting his head on Backey's head. He almost felt like going back to sleep. _

 

_ Backey blushed a little at Astro’s kiss, giggling a little. He was in one of those affectionate moods right now… Hm, maybe they could just- _

_ A sudden knocking on the airlock’s door interrupted his train of thought. He was slightly startled by it, pulling away from Astro and looking toward the airlock. _

“I… I THINK THAT MUST BE CREWMATE BRONCO.”

 

_ The sudden noise made both Thomson and Ellis jump awake. _ "Wh-What was that?"  _ Emmet muttered, half-blind without his glasses. _

“It was just the airlock, Captain. I would get it myself, but I have a troublesome time getting off the floor by myself.”

"Oh, u-uhm... Tom, could you get that, please?" _ Emmet asked, trying to find his glasses on the table. Tom nodded and walked over to the airlock, opening it swiftly. _

 

_ Backey watched as Baby walked through the airlock, carrying four soup cans and the artifact that he was sent with. He remembered that it had something to do with being sent to the temple... He looked quite tired, but otherwise looked fine. _

“It’s good to be back…”  _ Baby sighed as he deposited the artifact back in its usual spot, before going over to the pantry to put the soup cans up, bringing their total number of soup cans from six up to ten. Hm… oh yeah, didn’t Baby miss the proposal? He guessed someone would have to fill him in on what he missed while he was gone. _

 

_ Astro watched him, too, noticing the soups he was carrying. Well, that was good news for the crew, at least. It was good news that Baby even returned. _

_ He stared down at the pictures Backey drew. He didn't know if he should hide them or not, since he knew the crew would be curious about it, and not everyone likes to share their stories. He bets Backey is one of those people. _

 

_ Backey looked back to Astro and followed his gaze down to his drawings. Hm… he guessed he wouldn’t really mind if the crew saw them, but he probably wouldn’t be telling his dream to them. ...Well, if they ask him about the clipboard, he guessed that he could show them. He’ll just pick it back up for now… He glanced back over to the crew as he picked up the clipboard, watching as Baby slumped into his seat. _

“Is there anythin’ I missed while I was gone?” _ Baby asked. Guess now Tom or Emmet would fill him in… _

 

"Welp, you only missed a proposal."  _ Tom bluntly informed, looking to the two AI. Astro shrugged, his screen slightly brightening. _

 

_ Backey blushed slightly as well as Baby looked over to them. _

“Oh really?? I’m happy for you two, congrats!”  _ Baby grinned at the two. Backey kinda shrugged. _

“HEH, THANKS…”

 

“Yes, thank you.”

_ Astro nodded, looking up to Baby. _

“We still haven’t decided what we’re going to do wedding-wise, but you’re invited nonetheless.”

 

“Oh, sweet!”  _ Baby simply said, before yawning. _ “I… might just take a nap now, if that’s alright, I feel ex-exhau-”  _ He struggled to say the word- _ “...tired.”

 

"Go right ahead, Baby." _ Captain Ellis invited him, nodding.  _ "Do you two even have a plan?"  _ Tom asked, suddenly in his seat. Astro looked over to Backey, having no idea how to answer. _

 

_ Backey watched as Baby curled up in his chair, trying to get comfortable, before looking back at Astro. Not knowing how to respond, he shrugged. _

“UH… NOT YET, BUT TO BE FAIR, IT’S ONLY BEEN A DAY SINCE THE PROPOSAL… WE’LL FIGURE OUT A PLAN SOON ENOUGH.”

 

"Eh, makes sense."  _ Tom shrugged, going back into his own little world. Astro didn't know whether or not he should get up or not. He was happy staying right beside Backey. _

 

_ Backey nodded, before looking down to his drawing. Hm… what should he do with it? Store it with the drawing Astro drew him? Or… hm, maybe Astro might like to keep it, who knows. Maybe he should ask him. _

“HEY ASTRO, WOULD YOU LIKE TO KEEP THE DRAWING I MADE?”

 

_ Astro was about to say something, but he paused, looking down at the papers. It was strange to see himself and Backey as two humans, and it set Astro's mind astray. He didn't know if he really wanted them or not. But, he had to admit that Backey was really cute... he decided to turn the tables onto Backey- _

“Well… do you want them?”

 

“UHHH…”

_ Backey’s mind went blank for a second, not expecting Astro to turn the question to him. _

“WELL… I ALREADY KINDA REMEMBER MY DREAM ENOUGH TO WHERE I DON’T REALLY NEED TO HAVE THESE DRAWINGS, THEY WERE MORE FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT I SAW… BUT, IF YOU WANT ME TO, I CAN KEEP THEM.”

 

“U-uhm, sure.”

_ Astro awkwardly laughed- _

“I’m not sure why, but they slightly… unsettled me, if I had to describe it.”

 

“MM, I GUESS THAT’S FAIR. IT’S A LITTLE WEIRD TO SEE YOURSELF SO DIFFERENTLY. JARRING, EVEN. GUESS I’M JUST NOT AS PHASED BY IT.”

_ Backey shrugged. Not really wanting to get up and put the drawing away, he just flipped over the clipboard to where no one would see it and laid it on the floor. Out of sight, out of mind. _

 

_ Astro went quiet, not knowing what to say anymore. He stared into space, letting his database at ease. _

 

_ Backey let the silence settle as he thought of what to talk about. Since he had pulled away from Astro when he was startled by the airlock, he was only sitting next to Astro now… Hm, well, no one’s really paying attention to them anymore and no one needs them at the moment, so they might as well get comfortable again. He got closer to Astro, snuggling up to him. He sighed, his thoughts drifting back to the fact that he was getting married to the man he was snuggling up against. Him. Astro. Hm… don’t couples change their last names when they’re married…? But… hm, him and Astro don’t have last names. _

“HEY, ASTRO… YOU KNOW HOW COUPLES CHANGE THEIR LAST NAMES WHEN THEY’RE MARRIED? WE DON’T HAVE LAST NAMES… ARE WE GONNA MAKE ONE? OR NO?”

 

_ Huh, that came out of nowhere. Astro thought for a moment, letting the warmth from Backey flow into his side. Last name? What type of last name would fit them two? And, usually last names are to represent... how a family is connected. Were him and Backey now a family? AI are hardwired and coded to give instructions and help out humans. Never in Astro's life would he have thought that he would be sitting with his soon-to-be husband, thinking about last names for them. _

“U-Uh…”

_ He stuttered, still trying to think. All his life, he was called Astro, and he doesn't remember any other thing he's been called before. Well, besides Backey's pet names. Heh, it was cute when he changed them... He got off-topic. _

“W-Well, I don’t know how that would benefit us…”

_ Ugh, it sounds like I'm in denial. I don't mean that. He internally argued with himself. _

 

“I MEAN, YEAH, I GUESS IT WOULDN’T BENEFIT US THAT MUCH, AND WE DON’T HAVE TO MAKE ONE… I JUST WAS WONDERING IF YOU’D LIKE A LAST NAME.”

_ Backey paused for a moment, thinking. _

“HEH… WE COULD BE MISTER AND MISTER… WHATEVER OUR LAST NAME WOULD BE. IF YOU WANT.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... we've reached the end. Notice how this chapter's pretty short and ends at a kinda abrupt spot? Wellllllll... we kinda moved on from this rp XD
> 
> So, yeah... this won't continue, sorry to people who have cared enough to read this far. Trust me, me and Dyno are still very much invested in Astro and Backey! Just... not this rp lol
> 
> But, anyway-
> 
> Thank you so much if you've read this far! I'm sorry to cut off the story before it finished, but I hope that this was an interesting read :D
> 
> Here I'm gonna promote my Deviantart and Tumblr accounts, so you know where to find me!  
> DA: https://www.deviantart.com/bellbones1207  
> Tumblr (main blog): https://bell-bones.tumblr.com  
> Tumblr (art blog): bb-draws-art-things.tumblr.com
> 
> I'm also gonna promote Dyno's social media, cuz she deserves love too!  
> DA: https://www.deviantart.com/dynoloafer  
> Tumblr (she doesn't really use it anymore, but might as well promo it): https://dynolover.tumblr.com


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